Any checklist for aging parents should include a review of safety: home safety, medications/health, and issues like senior driving safety.  Many older drivers maintain excellent driving skills and make adjustments to ensure safety.  My grandfather (pictured right with his red corvette) taught the AARP senior driving safety course for many years and helped other seniors to make adjustments and update driving skills.  As AARP's site states, "Some drivers age 50+ have never looked back since they got their first driver's licenses, but even the most experienced drivers can benefit from brushing up on their driving skills".

Technology is taking on a bigger role in healthcare.  Healthcare reform legislation gave technology a central role and most medical providers have moved to electronic medical records, patient portals and more.  About time, some would say, but it is not an easy transition to make for a number of reasons: patient privacy and concerns of patients about what this means to them, how to implement technology across various providers which are generally not coordinated and budgeting for large scale implementations.

During a recent family health scare, it hit home for me how challenging things can be when you are dealing with something so deeply personal.  It also caused me to reflect on the work we do in elder care management with families dealing with healthcare crises and aging issues every day.

In our work with seniors and their families, we assist with Medicare analysis and advice, navigating the medical system and keeping families aware of vital issues regarding their senior healthcare and Medicare.  As the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare or healthcare reform) passed and provisions have been rolling out, we have written various articles on some of the key aspects of the bills for seniors.  Recently we did a presentation reviewing the key provisions and realized this continues to be a "hot topic" on the minds of seniors, their families and their professional advisors.

Why is geriatric care so complicated?  Why do so many little things seem to go wrong in the care of elders?  Some facts will shed some light on the complexities of geriatric care:

One in four adults in the U.S. is caring for a loved one over 50 (family members with disability, illness or aging-related infirmities).