Twelve per cent of elderly people are currently above 65 years of age.
By 2030, there will be more than 70 million elderly people.
Ninety per cent of elderly people receive health care at home.
Eighty per cent of these depend solely on family and friends for care.
The US has 7,128 certified geriatricians at present and will need 36,000 by 2030.
The current geriatrician-patient ratio is one certified personnel for every 2,500 Americans.
The number of certified geriatricians fell by 22 per cent between 2000 and 2006.
The US needs to increase the health-care workforce by 35 per cent to maintain the existing ratio.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Weaving more geriatrics training into general medical education for doctors, nurses and others, and providing training to health-care workers in all settings of elderly care.
Extending financial incentives to increase the number of geriatric specialists in all health professions.
Federal government training programmes should waive education loans for those who care for older adults.