scholarly journals Trajectories of Emergency Department Use After Incident Functional Disability

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 118-118
Author(s):  
Katherine Ornstein ◽  
Claire Ankuda

Abstract Emergency department (ED) visits for older adults with functional disability may represent unmet needs and are often burdensome to patients and families. While it is known that older adults with functional disability use the ED at high rates, this does not capture the heterogeneity of experience after the onset of disability. Using NHATS, we identified a cohort of older adults with incident disability, or who reported they began to receive help with self-care and/or mobility in the prior year. Using the month that they report first receiving help, we linked to Medicare data to assess quarterly patterns of ED use. We used Group Based Trajectory Modeling to assess the trajectories of ED use after disability. We identified three distinct trajectories of ED use: persistently high, declining, and persistently low. We describe the clinical, household, and sociodemographic characteristics associated with likely membership in each trajectory group.

Author(s):  
Mohsen Bazargan ◽  
James Smith ◽  
Sharon Cobb ◽  
Lisa Barkley ◽  
Cheryl Wisseh ◽  
...  

Objectives: Using the Andersen’s Behavioral Model of Health Services Use, we explored social, behavioral, and health factors that are associated with emergency department (ED) utilization among underserved African American (AA) older adults in one of the most economically disadvantaged urban areas in South Los Angeles, California. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited a convenience sample of 609 non-institutionalized AA older adults (age ≥ 65 years) from South Los Angeles, California. Participants were interviewed for demographic factors, self-rated health, chronic medication conditions (CMCs), pain, depressive symptoms, access to care, and continuity of care. Outcomes included 1 or 2+ ED visits in the last 12 months. Polynomial regression was used for data analysis. Results: Almost 41% of participants were treated at an ED during the last 12 months. In all, 27% of participants attended an ED once and 14% two or more times. Half of those with 6+ chronic conditions reported being treated at an ED once; one quarter at least twice. Factors that predicted no ED visit were male gender (OR = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.29–0.85), higher continuity of medical care (OR = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.04–2.31), individuals with two CMCs or less (OR = 2.61 (1.03–6.59), second tertile of pain severity (OR = 2.80, 95% CI = 1.36–5.73). Factors that predicted only one ED visit were male gender (OR = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.25–0.82), higher continuity of medical care (OR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.01–2.15) and second tertile of pain severity (OR = 2.42, 95% CI = 1.13–5.19). Conclusions: This study documented that a lack of continuity of care for individuals with multiple chronic conditions leads to a higher rate of ED presentations. The results are significant given that ED visits may contribute to health disparities among AA older adults. Future research should examine whether case management decreases ED utilization among underserved AA older adults with multiple chronic conditions and/or severe pain. To explore the generalizability of these findings, the study should be repeated in other settings.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 942-946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne M. Gillespie ◽  
Erin B. Wasserman ◽  
Nancy E. Wood ◽  
Hongyue Wang ◽  
Ann Dozier ◽  
...  

CJEM ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (S1) ◽  
pp. S106-S107
Author(s):  
K. Morch ◽  
R. Schonnop ◽  
A. Gauri ◽  
D. Ha

Introduction: The geriatric patient population accounts for an ever increasing proportion of emergency department (ED) visits. Geriatric centered EDs are an emerging area of interest and research. Though there have been past studies looking at older patient presentations at individual hospitals, there is limited data describing geriatric presentations within an entire Canadian geographic health region. This study characterizes the population of older adults utilizing the EDs in the Edmonton Zone, a health region that comprises a total of eleven tertiary (T), urban community (UC) and rural community (RC) hospitals. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study targeted all patients ≥65 years presenting to the Edmonton Zone EDs between April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018. Data was extracted from the Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) database for ten EDs in the health region. Clinical and administrative data points were extracted and examined for each site. Results: We analyzed 100,813 ED geriatric patient visits during our study period, accounting for 18.7% of total ED visits to the Edmonton Zone. The five most common triage complaints at ED presentation were shortness of breath, abdominal pain, chest pain with cardiac features, general weakness, and back pain. CTAS scores 1-3 were assigned to 77.8% of geriatric presentations (T: 86.3%, UC: 77.4%, RC: 60.9%). 27.3% of geriatric patients had presented to an ED within the past 30 days (T: 30.0%, UC: 25.4%, RC: 27.7%). On average, 35.3% of older adult ED visits involved a consultation (T: 51.7%, UC 30.8%, RC 14.6%) and approximately 25% of geriatric patients were admitted to hospital during their ED visit (T: 42.8%, UC: 19.4%, RC: 7.1%). The average length of stay (LOS) in the ED (hh:mm) was 10:19 (T: 10:24, UC: 11:38, RC: 5:43). Overall, 2.4% of all geriatric patients left an ED without being seen after initial registration (T: 2.7%, UC: 2.2%, RC: 2.1%). Conclusion: Older adults represent a significant proportion of the ED visits in the Edmonton Zone. The triage acuity, LOS, re-presentation, consultation and admission rates varied based on the type of ED, which has implications for resource allocation within the health region. Our results can also direct future targeted initiatives and quality improvement projects to the various types of EDs in the Edmonton Zone, and facilitate planning of ED services for older adults in other health regions who have a similar geographic distribution of care sites.


2020 ◽  
pp. 155982762094218
Author(s):  
Briana L. Moreland ◽  
Ramakrishna Kakara ◽  
Yara K. Haddad ◽  
Iju Shakya ◽  
Gwen Bergen

Introduction. Falls among older adults (age ≥65) are a common and costly health issue. Knowing where falls occur and whether this location differs by sex and age can inform prevention strategies. Objective. To determine where injurious falls that result in emergency department (ED) visits commonly occur among older adults in the United States, and whether these locations differ by sex and age. Methods. Using 2015 National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-All Injury Program data we reviewed narratives for ED patients aged ≥65 who had an unintentional fall as the primary cause of injury. Results. More fall-related ED visits (71.6%) resulted from falls that occurred indoors. A higher percentage of men’s falls occurred outside (38.3%) compared to women’s (28.4%). More fall-related ED visits were due to falls at home (79.2%) compared to falls not at home (20.8%). The most common locations for a fall at home were the bedroom, bathroom, and stairs. Conclusion. The majority of falls resulting in ED visits among older adults occurred indoors and varied by sex and age. Knowing common locations of injurious falls can help older adults and caregivers prioritize home modifications. Understanding sex and age differences related to fall location can be used to develop targeted prevention messages.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (7_suppl) ◽  
pp. 609-609
Author(s):  
Joel E Segel ◽  
Eric W. Schaefer ◽  
Jay D. Raman ◽  
Christopher S. Hollenbeak

609 Background: As payers turn to alternative payment models, including the CMS Oncology Care Model, risk-adjusted emergency department (ED) visits are being incorporated as a quality. Yet little is know about this metric compares to existing metrics such as risk-adjusted mortality rates and costs. Methods: Using 2007-2012 SEER-Medicare data, we used logistic regression to model occurrence of an ED visit within 30 and 365 days for all kidney cancer patients receiving initial surgery. Our model controlled for demographics, stage, histology, systemic targeted therapy, and comorbidities. Based on model predictions, we created a ratio of actual versus predicted ED visits for hospitals to identify hospitals with higher and lower than predicted ED visit rates. We estimated the association between the hospitals’ ED visit ratio and hospitals’ risk-adjusted 365-day mortality rates, and 6- and 12-month total costs and total costs (less ED visits). Results: In our sample of 6,078 patients, 15.5% had an ED visit within 30 days of surgery and 43.5% within 365 days. For hospitals with ≥10 patients, we found no statistically significant association between 30-day or 365-day risk-adjusted ED visit rate and their 365-day risk-adjusted mortality rate. While hospitals’ 30-day ED visit rates were significantly associated with 6- and 12-month costs, the association was largely driven by the cost of the ED visit itself. Conversely, hospitals’ 365-day ED visit rates were significantly associated with 12-month costs after excluding the cost of the ED visit. Conclusions: Our results suggest hospitals’ risk-adjusted ED visit rates capture a qualitatively different measure of quality than the more commonly reported mortality rates and is significantly associated with patient cost.


BMJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. e065653
Author(s):  
Shengzhi Sun ◽  
Kate R Weinberger ◽  
Amruta Nori-Sarma ◽  
Keith R Spangler ◽  
Yuantong Sun ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective To quantify the association between ambient heat and visits to the emergency department (ED) for any cause and for cause specific conditions in the conterminous United States among adults with health insurance. Design Time stratified case crossover analyses with distributed lag non-linear models. Setting US nationwide administrative healthcare claims database. Participants All commercial and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries (74.2 million) aged 18 years and older between May and September 2010 to 2019. Main outcome measures Daily rates of ED visits for any cause, heat related illness, renal disease, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and mental disorders based on discharge diagnosis codes. Results 21 996 670 ED visits were recorded among adults with health insurance living in 2939 US counties. Days of extreme heat—defined as the 95th centile of the local warm season (May through September) temperature distribution (at 34.4°C v 14.9°C national average level)—were associated with a 7.8% (95% confidence interval 7.3% to 8.2%) excess relative risk of ED visits for any cause, 66.3% (60.2% to 72.7%) for heat related illness, 30.4% (23.4% to 37.8%) for renal disease, and 7.9% (5.2% to 10.7%) for mental disorders. Days of extreme heat were associated with an excess absolute risk of ED visits for heat related illness of 24.3 (95% confidence interval 22.9 to 25.7) per 100 000 people at risk per day. Heat was not associated with a higher risk of ED visits for cardiovascular or respiratory diseases. Associations were more pronounced among men and in counties in the north east of the US or with a continental climate. Conclusions Among both younger and older adults, days of extreme heat are associated with a higher risk of ED visits for any cause, heat related illness, renal disease, and mental disorders. These results suggest that the adverse health effects of extreme heat are not limited to older adults and carry important implications for the health of adults across the age spectrum.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary W Carter ◽  
Bo Kyum Yang ◽  
Marsha Davenport ◽  
Allison Kabel

Abstract Objective This study sought to investigate factors associated with opioid misuse-related emergency department (ED) visits among older adults and changes in outcomes associated with these visits, using multiple years of nationally representative data. Methods A retrospective analysis of the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample was conducted. Study inclusion was limited to adults aged 65 years and older. Diagnostic codes were used to identify opioid misuse disorder; sampling weights were used to adjust standard estimates of the errors. Descriptive and multivariate procedures were used to describe risk and visit outcomes. Results ED visits by older adults with opioid misuse identified in the ED increased sharply from 2006 to 2014, representing a nearly 220% increase over the study period. Opioid misuse was associated with an increased number of chronic conditions, greater injury risk, and higher rates of alcohol dependence and mental health diagnoses. Conclusion The steep increase in opioid misuse observed among older adult ED visits underscores the critical need for additional research to better understand the national scope and impact of opioid misuse on older adults, as well as to better inform policy responses to meet the needs of this particular age group.


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