Georgetown, IOM Co-Host Event On Aging
The Department of Health Systems Administration at NHS and the Institute of Medicine co-hosted a recent event entitled, "Aging America: Can We Learn From Japan?" The two-hour session, held at the National Academies in Washington on Oct. 3, featured Naoki Ikegami, M.D., Ph.D., a leading health care expert in Japan. "Ikegami is best described as the primary interpreter of Japanese health care to the world at large," said Gary Filerman, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Health Systems Administration, during his introduction. Ikegami—who serves as professor and chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Keio School of Medicine—spoke on Japan's experience with its aging population, as well as the country's institution of long-term care insurance. "Japan has the highest ratio of the elderly in the world," Ikegami said. In 1970, he noted, 7 percent of the overall population was 65 or older. By 2006, that number had ballooned to 20 percent. In 2020, Ikegami predicted it would hit 27 percent. To the budding physicians in the room, he said, "You're going to earn your living by talking to old people." During the course of the lecture, Ikegami touched upon a range of related issues, including assisted living facilities, nursing homes, workforce development, incentives, and quality of care. "For long-term care insurance...the best assurance of quality is caliber of workforce," he said. The event was moderated by James Knickman, Ph.D., president and CEO of New York State Health Foundation. "It is a pleasure to work with the IOM on an event like this," Filerman said.
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