The need for qualified health management: a consequence of the expanding elderly age group

Abstract

In Brazil, the process of population aging is accelerated. Prolongation of life is an aspiration of any society. However, it can only be considered a real achievement in that it adds quality to additional years of life. Thus, any health policy for the elderly should take into account health promotion and maintenance of functional capacity. If, on the one hand, the elderly have a higher burden of disease and disability and use more health services, on the other, current health care models for the elderly are shown to be inefficient and costly, calling for creative and innovative structures. It is necessary to reverse the logic of the current system, guided by the course of treatment of the disease and not of health. The National Agency for Supplementary Health proposed an innovative action aimed at the accession of beneficiaries to active aging programs, encouraging operators to adopt this view of care for the elderly receiving cash benefits to adhere to preventive programs and proper health care. This paper proposes that the model being implemented should be based on the preservation of functional capacity, assuming that all elderly should receive care, but in different degrees