June is Alzheimer’s and brain awareness month, and the OctariusRx team is supporting the efforts of the Alzheimer’s Association to raise awareness.
Each year the Alzheimer’s Association releases the Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report, in which they detail the burden of Alzheimer’s and dementia on individuals, caregivers, government and the nation’s health care system.
Here are some quick facts from the Alzheimer’s Association:
- An estimated 6.2 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s dementia in 2021. Seventy-two percent are age 75 or older.
- One in three seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia. It kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.
- People living with Alzheimer’s or other dementias have twice as many hospital stays per year as other older people.
- Among people age 70, 61% of those with Alzheimer’s dementia are expected to die before the age of 80 compared with 30% of people without Alzheimer’s — a rate twice as high.
- In 2021, Alzheimer’s and other dementias will cost the nation $355 billion, including $239 billion in Medicare and Medicaid payments combined. Unless a treatment to slow, stop or prevent the disease is developed, in 2050, Alzheimer’s is projected to cost more than $1.1 trillion (in 2021 dollars). This dramatic rise includes more than three-fold increases both in government spending under Medicare and Medicaid and in out-of-pocket spending.
- Medicare beneficiaries with Alzheimer’s or other dementias are more likely than those without dementia to have other chronic conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes and kidney disease.
- There are many ways to help fight the battle against this dreaded disease. You can donate, fundraise, or advocate. Join the OctariusRx team in supporting this worthy cause.
The Consultant Pharmacists at OctariusRx provide guidance on safe medication management, survey readiness and cost savings to ambulatory healthcare facilities/surgery centers, senior care facilities and pharmacies. We also help individual patients optimize their medications to improve their quality of life and save money. Contact us for assistance.
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