What We Need Going Forward

1. Reduce unnecessary emergency ambulance transports among older adults as much as possible.

2. In each region, establish at least one comprehensive hospital that never refuses emergency ambulance patients or referrals from community clinics, and concentrate specialists there.

3. Make comprehensive primary care physicians (family doctors/general practitioners) available nationwide so that older adults can easily seek medical attention for any health concern and receive care at an early stage.

Small hospitals that provide only limited services are often forced to turn patients away. Rather than having many partially equipped facilities, each region should have at least one comprehensive hospital staffed with specialists and committed to accepting emergency patients and clinic referrals without refusal.

At the same time, every community should have accessible comprehensive primary care physicians who can evaluate and manage a wide range of health problems.

This combination is what will protect regional healthcare.

Older adults should not have to wonder:

“Which hospital or specialist should I go to for this symptom?”

Instead, they should be able to consult their trusted primary care physician first, knowing that they will be guided to the right care when needed.

A healthcare system built on strong primary care and reliable regional hospitals will provide safer, more efficient, and more compassionate care for an aging society.