Seniors see doctor more often

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Older baby boomers and senior citizens are making more visits to the doctor's office than people in their age group did 10 years ago, a new study finds.

Fifty-three percent of patients visiting the doctor in 2001 were over age 45, according to the latest annual report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, which looks at medical care provided in doctors' offices. That number compares with 42 percent 10 years ago.

The number of people over age 45 rose 11 percent during the last decade, but the percentage of doctor visits by that age group rose 26 percent. On average, people age 45 years and older are going to the doctor 17 percent more than people in that age category did in 1992.

"People over 45 are going to the doctor more, and there are more of them," said Catharine Burt, report author and chief of ambulatory statistics at CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.

The study comes as Congress is trying to craft a final Medicare prescription drug bill -- by melding separate House and Senate versions.

Ms. Burt said the numbers in her report mean that any drug benefit, "sure needs to take into account the fact that there is going to be a lot of utilization -- both for prescriptions and for preventive care."

"It's going to be tough for everybody to pay for it," she said.

A CDC press release on the study explained that "seniors and older baby boomers are visiting the doctor more often to manage multiple chronic conditions, obtain newly available drugs and seek preventive care."

More drugs are being prescribed as well, the report found.