Speaking at “Concordium 2016” hosted by AcademyHealth www.academyhealth.org in the Washington D.C area, Dr. Bhagat Founder of the grassroots voluntary charitable organization “Physician-Parent Caregivers” (PPC), took part in the Opening Plenary session. She discussed in-depth the serious problem of transitioning young adults with chronic conditions into the adult medical care system.
As Dr, Bhagat explained, “PPC sees a grave situation in healthcare due to a lack of systemic support for young adults who grow up with childhood onset health conditions. PPC is looking to effectively create policy change for young adults with chronic conditions in not only healthcare, but also education, work, society, and government.
She founded the organization after the family was suddenly thrust into a critical situation when her eight year old daughter suddenly started having seizures. She is still being treated for her chronic illness at the age of 28.
Young adults faced with a lifetime of chronic diseases find it very difficult to transition to adult medical care. It turns out that the medical system for adults is not ready to serve young adults with chronic diseases over 18 since that type of support is simply not on the radar.
As Dr. Bhagat explained, “These young adults need good care so they can manage in life as many millennials are struggling not only with life changes but at the same time with chronic conditions. Most of the time, they keep the fact that they have a chronic condition secret and as a result, live with constant anxiety which very often can develop into additional mental health issues.”
The first barriers for young adults to effectively transition to adult care includes lack of qualified adult providers with adequate experience and the depth of knowledge needed to deal with childhood onset conditions.
Secondly, many times, pediatricians deal with multidisciplinary teams, but when young adults transition, to adult providers, these adult providers aren’t used to coordinating medical issues with other providers.
In addition, the number of young adults ready to transition into adult care is considerable but data on the exact number of young adults ready to transition is very difficult to obtain. This essential type of data is not readily available in today’s public health systems which makes it very difficult to provide the right resources.
Also, lack of adequate insurance coverage can be a problem. Youths with chronic health conditions may require a wide range of services but many insurance policies may deny or limit services to youth with chronic health conditions. This can present financial problems to families that are difficult to solve which in turn, can put even more pressure on families.
To add to the problem of insurance, young adults may have chronic conditions that prevent them from being employed so they are not eligible for employer-sponsored insurance. Sometimes, public insurance may be available but it can be subject to eligibility requirements.