PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Sally Jones
AU  - Peter Wallis
TI  - Effectiveness of a geriatrician in the emergency department in facilitating safe admission prevention of older patients
AID  - 10.7861/clinmedicine.13-6-561
DP  - 2013 Dec 01
TA  - Clinical Medicine
PG  - 561--564
VI  - 13
IP  - 6
4099  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/13/6/561.short
4100  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/13/6/561.full
SO  - Clin Med2013 Dec 01; 13
AB  - The decision to admit a frail older patient is rarely made by a geriatrician and often falls to staff in the emergency department (ED), who may not have the training to balance the risks, benefits and alternatives. We based a consultant geriatrician in the ED with the primary aim of facilitating admission prevention for older patients and this was achieved for 64% (543/848) of patients. A secondary aim was to facilitate direct admission to elderly care wards when admission was necessary, and this was achieved for 57% of admitted patients (174/305). The geriatrician was able to facilitate discharge from the ED for over half of potential 30-day readmissions seen. The overall 7-day ED re-attendance rate was 10.1%, but only 3.4% of patients were admitted with the same problem, indicating true admission prevention rather than admission delay. In conclusion, the placement of a consultant geriatrician in the ED is effective in facilitating admission prevention for older patients.