(New York Times) – Medical care can be wearying and time-consuming, especially for seniors. Researchers are beginning to quantify the burdens.

Analyzing data from traditional Medicare for 2019, her team reported that beneficiaries over 65 averaged about 17 contact days that year for ambulatory care, which included doctors’ visits, tests and imaging, therapy and procedures — but not time spent in hospitals or nursing homes. (And not dentistry, since Medicare rarely covers it.)

But certain groups of seniors spent considerably more time with the medical system. Among those with 10 or more chronic conditions — an eye-opening 14 percent of the total — contact days for ambulatory care rose to 30 a year. Eleven percent of patients clocked 50 such days or more. (Read More)