We all hope to live a healthy, happy life, and the chances are that we will. However, it has become increasingly important to plan for your old age. Not just for retirement and living expenses, but for the possibility of requiring later life chronic care, home care, assistance for living, chair lifts or mobility scooters.
As more people live longer, the numbers being affected by chronic illnesses are increasing. Therefore, managing one’s health in later life has become an important part of overall retirement planning.
With such a plan, you and your family can avoid the following sometimes life-threatening circumstances:
Frequent Hospitalization
Many out there simply have a reactive approach to health care and elderly care, in particular. This is the belief that you go see your primary healthcare provider when you feel sick. Living by the mantra, ‘if you don’t feel ill, then there’s no need to go to the doctor.’ If this is the case, you and those you are looking after will be hospitalized more frequently than someone who has regular check-ups and a proactive view of family and elderly healthcare. Episodes of sickness are generally more severe and long-term than if you are on top of your health.
Late Diagnosis of Chronic Illness
Chronic illnesses can be treated and managed, giving the sick and elderly a much-improved quality of life. However, this is only possible if the condition or disease is diagnosed early. This can be done with planned, regular healthcare screening. For example, lung cancer has been found to be much more positively affected by treatment if it is diagnosed in the early stages with CT screening. Yet 70% of those who present with lung cancer do so when the cancer is in stage 4 and untreatable.
Chronic Pain and Suffering
If a chronic disease is detected late, then there is likely to be more chance of the disease causing severe symptomatic pain and discomfort. Making plans for chronic care management (CCM) is particularly important as it can protect both the patient from unnecessary suffering but also protect family members from stress and anxiety. A CCM management program is vital for a comprehensive elderly health care plan.
Family Stress and Anxiety
Stress and anxiety can be caused when a family member has no choice but to care for an elderly parent or relative. They may have no care experience and have no idea how to deal with the symptoms of chronic illness.
If you wish to avoid all of the issues mentioned above, it is advised that you and your family plan in advance for elderly health care. Do not wait for old age and chronic illness to happen to you and those you love. Plan for the fact that you are likely to live longer than your parents, plan for the fact that Medicare will not cover all your medical and healthcare needs, and plan for the possibility of chronic illness. Plan that you might need a healthcare professional with the ACLS certificate to take care of your elderly family member at home.
The idea is to ensure that you and your family have spoken about and planned exactly what you would like to see for your family health, and then to try to realize this with long-term planning, frequent health checks and scans, and a preventative health care plan.
To read more on topics like this, check out the Lifestyle category
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