The National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey 2009-2010 has just released a report of its findings for emergency department visits for patients 65 years and older.
Key findings include:
- 19.6 million ED visits by geriatric patients between 2009-2010
- Approximately 500 ED visits per 1,000 geriatric people on average
- ED visits increased with age, with older groups exceeding the 50 percent ED visit statistic
- Approximately 30 percent of ED visits were related to injury on average, with the highest percentage for those 85 years and older
- More than 14 percent of ED visits were related to falls, which contributed more significantly to ED visits with increasing age (20 percent for people 85 years and older)
- ED visits resulted in hospitalization nearly 37 percent of the time on average, with the number increasing with age (65 to 74 years: 32.4 percent; 75 to 84 years: 37.2 percent; 85 years and over: 43.4 percent)
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