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-- getting older doesn't just mean hip replacements and -- backs according to a new report one in five seniors have a mental health or substance abuse problem and as the baby boomers age.
We want to have the resources to treat the -- Fox news's health dot com managing -- -- Dr.
Manny Alvarez joining me now with his.
-- medical dollars reporting Dr.
Manny this I was reading somebody -- quite frightening.
Com basically one in five older Americans have substance abuse or mental health needs and according to the people who did this so -- it's it's a crisis proportion.
Well it is because right now even today with these at today's numbers so the projections still out there.
To say to quantify well if one in five seniors is -- thing is being affected -- my depression anxiety.
You know drug abuse which is very -- and -- and among the older population.
What are we gonna do I mean how do we treat them right now mental healthcare facilities are.
Very stretched out.
There's really very those small amounts of mental health professionals that -- really mean doing anything about some of the you know that did the debilitating issues -- so what's gonna happen is the following.
In 2008 you had a 164.
Million prescriptions.
Ford had to the presence given up from.
If you you know if you push that out basically is going to be that.
You know that you're not going to be tackling mental health will you be doing as you gonna be having a society of seniors.
Basically going either to primary care doctors -- -- practice nurses.
Not necessarily mental health specialist right -- getting their their their their their prescription failed.
If you look at the productivity.
He know it again in 2000 and -- the data showed that.
About eighty billion dollars -- were lost in productivity.
Because of mental health issues.
That of course affects the bottom line of our economy.
As you move forward especially with the changes in healthcare laws and had what -- we know how we gonna take care of all these people how we gonna.
Be able to make them productive so that.
Especially as senior workers could go back to the workplace so you have a compounding effect not enough doctors -- deficiency of productivity.
And millions of people that -- going to really find it very difficult to get help clinically.
Just not enough people to help them.
They -- -- -- silver up tsunami.
What the baby boomers getting on that point -- their life I mean he's a drug abuse is quite coming talking about addiction to pain pills that well one and that's one of the biggest problems you know because it -- look at our society for a -- really.
Gone after -- pills for the four for everything and panacea -- a panacea and what happens is.
You know people go to doctors they don't talk to their doctors they basically -- there for a prescription refill.
Many of these medications are addictive nature so they basically become addicted addicted to anxiety pills addicted to xanax.
Addicted to sleep agents the -- all of these things and ultimately you know they -- they're not functioning anymore they just going from one prescription to the next.
And this is really creating a society that's going to be affected by as -- -- by productivity.
And be independent and on all these.
Of you know all these prescriptions that ultimately.
This is not medicine this is just something that out out of Madison.
So very quickly what's being done to address this we've -- the survey is anything being done -- nothing is being done -- -- right now I feel very bad for people with mental health because there's a deficiency in getting services for them and is gonna get worse and you know on I think that this said did this.
The Avalon should people that are gonna be sure now let's say through Medicaid.
They gonna find a very difficult to find mental health specialists.
On a timely basis to -- -- deal with their depression -- we don't have a very compounding problem.
Experiencing very disturbing all right but -- many -- got -- having increase.
