ORGANIZING INPATIENT CARE TO PATIENTS OF THE ELDERLY AND SENILE AGE IN MOSCOW
Significance. Over the past twenty years (1995 - 2015) in Moscow the share of residents 60 years and over in the general structure of population has increased by 62.0%. Social, demographic and epidemiological changes of the past decades will soon bring about such a situation when about half of all budgetary funds of the Moscow health care system are to be spent on medical care for the elderly. The purpose of the study was to substantiate improvements based on the analysis of current organization of inpatient care delivery to the elderly and senile age patients. Results. The study found a steady growth trend in the share of the elderly among in-patients in hospitals in 2006-2011. Over these six years the share has dramatically increased by 70.9 %. This same period is characterized by an increase in admission rates of the elderly by almost 30%. The studies showed that the majority of the elderly and senile age patients (64.2%) were admitted to multi-field hospitals, while every third patient of this age group (35.8%) was hospitalized to specialized hospitals under dispensaries and infectious disease hospital. Along with the age increase the share of urgent admissions increases. In patients 60-64 years, the share of urgent admissions adds up to 21.7%, while in patients 80 -84 years and patients 85 years and over the share of urgent admissions equals to 25.0% and 38.5% respectively. Therefore, every fifth out of patients 60-64 years, every fourth out of patients 80-84 years and every third out of patients 85 years and over are urgently hospitalized. According to the obtained data, in all Moscow hospitals the share of refused hospitalizations ranged from 7.5 to 20.0%. Analysis of refusals by the elderly and senile age patients, who were admitted, showed that such patients accounted for 16.5% of the total number of patients referred for hospitalization in this age group. Conclusions. The study revealed a sustainable growth trend in the share of the elderly and senile age patients out of all admissions in 2006-2011. Patients of the elderly and senile age account for one third of all admissions; the share of such patients hospitalized to certain specialized departments adds up to 40-50%. Given specific course of diseases in the elderly and senile ages multi-field inpatient facilities should develop geriatric departments with a prolonged length of treatment to care for such patients.