Open AccessDischarge Planning: Screening Older Patients for Multidisciplinary Team Referral
Author(s) -
Carolyn Hegarty,
Clare Buckley,
Rachel Forrest,
Bob Marshall
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
international journal of integrated care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.083
H-Index - 32
ISSN - 1568-4156
DOI - 10.5334/ijic.2252
Subject(s) - referral , medicine , odds , multidisciplinary team , univariate , odds ratio , index (typography) , multivariate analysis , emergency department , multidisciplinary approach , emergency medicine , family medicine , medical emergency , gerontology , multivariate statistics , nursing , logistic regression , social science , statistics , mathematics , sociology , world wide web , computer science
The objective was to determine whether the Elders Risk Assessment Index can predict multi-disciplinary team referral of older patients (≥ 65 years) in Emergency Department same-day discharges. The study identified 1,376 qualifying individuals from a regional New Zealand hospital database. Of these, 12.7 % were referred to the multi-disciplinary team. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to explore associations between the Index, its components, and other demographic factors with referral. With every unit increase in the Index there was a 9% increase in the odds of being referred. When the components of the Index were analysed separately, an increased likelihood of being referred was associated with not being married, having had a previous hospital admission of more than five days, having chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and being older. Conversely, a decreased likelihood was associated with having diabetes. When non-Index items were analysed it was found that females were more likely to be referred than males and that Māori were less likely to be referred than New Zealand Europeans. With adaptation, the Elders Risk Assessment Index may provide a simple, cost-effective, and timely tool to assist in determining the need for multi-disciplinary team referral for older people who present to the Emergency Department.