Functional assessment and its place in health care

Much has been written about the rapid aging of the populations of the developed countries of the world. In Japan, people 65 years of age and older now make up 12 percent of the general population and account for a third of all visits to physicians and hospital care. If present patterns remain unchanged, by the year 2020 over half of all health care will be devoted to the elderly, who will then account for 26 percent of the Japanese population.¹The health care needs of the elderly will require shifting the focus of medical activities from the acute care. . .