Theodorakis Nikolaos, Kollia Zoi, Christodoulou Michalitsa, Nella Ioanna, Spathara Aggeliki, Athinaou Sofia, Triantafylli Gesthimani, Hitas Christos, Anagnostou Dimitrios, Kreouzi Magdalini, Kalantzi Sofia, Spyridaki Aikaterini, Nikolaou Maria
Geriatric Outpatient Clinic 65+, Sismanogleio-Amalia Fleming General Hospital, Melissia, GRC.
Cureus. 2025 Feb 24;17(2):e79590. doi: 10.7759/cureus.79590. eCollection 2025 Feb.
The aging population presents a growing challenge to healthcare systems, necessitating urgent adaptations to meet the complex needs of older adults. Existing healthcare models often lack integration and fail to provide patient-centered care, leading to fragmented services, suboptimal outcomes, increased hospitalizations, and escalating healthcare costs. This narrative review aims to systematically identify and categorize the key barriers to effective healthcare implementation for the elderly, evaluate current healthcare models and their limitations, and explore evidence-based strategies to improve care delivery. A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science for studies published from 2000 to October 2024. The identified barriers span multiple domains, including patient-related challenges such as low health literacy and socioeconomic disparities, disease-specific factors like frailty and multimorbidity, provider-related constraints such as inadequate geriatric training, and system-wide deficiencies in primary care infrastructure and policy support. To address these challenges, this review explores emerging solutions, including risk stratification tools, integrated healthcare models, digital health innovations, and artificial intelligence-driven interventions. By providing a structured analysis of barriers and solutions, this review aims to inform policy and healthcare practices that enhance elderly care, reduce hospital readmissions, and optimize resource utilization in aging populations.
人口老龄化给医疗保健系统带来了日益严峻的挑战，迫切需要进行调整以满足老年人的复杂需求。现有的医疗保健模式往往缺乏整合，未能提供以患者为中心的护理，导致服务碎片化、治疗效果欠佳、住院率上升以及医疗保健成本不断攀升。本叙述性综述旨在系统地识别和分类老年人有效实施医疗保健的关键障碍，评估当前的医疗保健模式及其局限性，并探索基于证据的策略以改善护理服务。在PubMed、MEDLINE、Scopus和Web of Science中对2000年至2024年10月发表的研究进行了全面的文献检索。所确定的障碍跨越多个领域，包括与患者相关的挑战，如健康素养低和社会经济差异；特定疾病因素，如虚弱和多病共存；与提供者相关的限制，如老年医学培训不足；以及初级保健基础设施和政策支持方面的全系统缺陷。为应对这些挑战，本综述探讨了新兴解决方案，包括风险分层工具、综合医疗保健模式、数字健康创新以及人工智能驱动的干预措施。通过对障碍和解决方案进行结构化分析，本综述旨在为政策制定和医疗保健实践提供参考，以加强老年护理、减少医院再入院率并优化老年人群的资源利用。
