The aging of the population has a significant impact on medicine, as it provokes an increase in health care costs. The aging population is driving up the cost of health care because older people need more medical care. They are more likely to suffer from chronic diseases, and the frequency of visits to medical institutions and the number of medications consumed are increasing accordingly. There is a global demographic shift towards an aging population and an increase in the share of older people, which in turn changes the number of working people per retiree (Mealy & Sorensen, 2020). It is expected that the decrease in the percentage of the labor force in combination with the growing dependence on the aging population will lead to an increase in government spending on health services. It is assumed that the increase in life expectancy is usually associated with a large number of years spent by the population in an unhealthy environment and an increase in the number of people with chronic diseases (Mealy & Sorensen, 2020). Such trends will lead to a sharp rise in spending on the medical sector and an increase in fiscal imbalances.
As a nursing leader, I will have the ability to impact the cost of health care delivery by developing new approaches to managing health care financing costs and protection against unnecessary treatments. Older people often consume large amounts of medications that can even be harmful to their health. Nurses have the opportunity to select unnecessary treatment and leave only the most necessary medications (Alvarez & Sandri, 2018). Nurses can also impact the cost of health care delivery through waste reduction, as reusable containers can be used for some types of tests.
References
Alvarez, Â. M., & Sandri, J. (2018). Population aging and the Nursing commitment. Revista brasileira de enfermagem, 71 Suppl 2, 722–723.
Mealy, A., & Sorensen, J. (2020). Effects of an aging population on hospital costs related to elective hip replacements. Public Health, 180, 10–16.