Premium
Emergency Department Utilization by the Elderly: Analysis of the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey
Author(s) -
Woford James L.,
Schwartz Earl,
Timerding Beverly L.,
Folmar Steven,
Ellis Shellie D.,
Messick Catherine H.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
academic emergency medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.221
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1553-2712
pISSN - 1069-6563
DOI - 10.1111/j.1553-2712.1996.tb03493.x
Subject(s) - medicine , emergency department , ambulatory , medical diagnosis , age groups , demographics , geriatrics , medical care , ambulatory care , population , pediatrics , gerontology , family medicine , emergency medicine , demography , health care , psychiatry , environmental health , pathology , sociology , economics , economic growth
Objective : To characterize the ED utilization patterns of the elderly population using nationally representative data. Methods : A secondary analysis was performed using the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS), a nationwide, stratified probability sample of ED encounters. Using these physician‐reported data, the demographics, patient complaints, physician diagnoses, and dispositions were compared by age group, i.e., young‐old (age 65–84 years) vs old‐old (age ±85 years). Results : The elderly (age ±65 years) represented 5,038 (19.6%) of 25,646 ED encounters for all adults (age ±18 years). The geriatric age groups (ages 65–74, 75–84, and ±85 years) accounted for 45.3%, 37.4%, and 17.2% of all the encounters by the elderly. The proportions of female patients and white patients were higher with increasing age. The proportion of elderly patients hospitalized was 4 times that of younger adults and reflected monotonic increase with increasing age among elders. Patient complaints and physician diagnoses were generally similar for the young‐old (65–84 years) and the old‐old (±85 years). Conclusions : These findings are consistent with previous single‐center studies of geriatric ED patients. This data source may be useful for investigation of clinical issues related to the care of elderly ED patients.