[A personal view on health care policy for the elderly at home]

The author advocates providing extra care for the elderly, not the whole category, but especially for risk groups which have yet to be determined. It is the demographic development which is responsible for this: by the year 2000 the number of older people will have increased by 34 percent, and will be approximately two million people. This extra care can be given by means of periodic medical screening, preferably to be included in normal medical practice. Arguments for this procedure are provided by literature research, from which appears that a lot of more or less hidden pathology exists among the older population. Also a further elaboration of this approach by the 'Centrale Raad voor de Volksgezondheid' (Central Advisory Board of Health Care) and a regional experiment in cooperation with a home for long term care and possibly with a hospital with a geriatric department are advocated.