The Rand Corporation (http://www.rand.org/about/history.html) published research findings stating that far more people are surviving to old age than at any time in our history. Medical interventions can now prevent or postpone many of the health problems traditionally associated with old age. Furthermore, the goal of medical care for the elderly has progressed beyond survival to maximizing quality of life, yet little attention has been paid to the overall quality of medical care that older people receive. In fact, existing measures of quality or health status are often inappropriate for the elderly. The key findings have been:
- Little attention has been paid to the quality of health care that vulnerable elders and other older adults receive.
- RAND has developed a set of indicators to measure the quality of care received for 22 conditions that affect older adults.
- These indicators can be used to assess whether health plans are delivering care that meets minimum standards for quality.
