Help for dealing with elder medical fraud

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WASHINGTON, June 16 (UPI) -- The Investor Protection Trust, a U.S. non-profit group, said it has held 430 continuing medical education events to train doctors to prevent elder fraud.

Nearly 3,000 doctors and other medical professionals were trained in the Elder Investment Fraud and Financial Exploitation Prevention Program, which trains medical professionals in how to spot older Americans who may be particularly vulnerable to investment fraud abuse.

They were trained to refer at-risk patients to state securities regulators and Adult Protective Services professionals.

"The message from those on the front lines of investor protection is clear: Swindles targeting older Americans are a bigger problem today than ever before," Don Blandin, president and chief executive officer of Investor Protection Trust, said in a statement. "That's why we have already trained U.S. medical professionals who deal everyday with older Americans to spot the impaired mental capacity that can leave seniors vulnerable to financial abuse."

The 2010 Investor Protection Trust Elder Fraud Survey found 20 percent of U.S. citizens age 65 and older already have been victimized by a financial swindle.

"That financial abuse of older Americans is rampant today is no commentary on seniors and their judgment; it is a simple medical fact of life that many older adults are highly vulnerable to being financially exploited," said Dr. Robert Roush, director, Texas Consortium Geriatric Education Center at Baylor College of Medicine. "There are medical conditions that increase the likelihood of success for investment swindles of older Americans."