Emergency department utilisation by older people in metropolitan Melbourne, 2008?12: findings from the Reducing Older Patient.

Conclusion Older people made a significant number of PAGP-type presentations to the ED during the period 2008-12. A low rate of referral back to the primary care setting implies a potential lost opportunity to redirect older patients from ED services back to their GPs for ongoing care.What is known about the topic? Older patients are increasingly attending EDs, with a proportion attending for problems that could potentially be managed in the general practice setting (termed PAGP-type presentations).What does this paper add? This study found that PAGP-type presentations, although declining, remain an important component of ED demand. Patients presented for a wide array of conditions and during periods that may indicate difficulty accessing a GP.What are the implications for practitioners? Strategies to redirect PAGP-type presentations to the GP setting are required at both the primary and acute care levels. These include increasing out-of-hours GP services, better triaging and appointment management in GP clinics and improved communication between ED clinicians and patients' GPs. Although some strategies have been implemented, further examination is required to assess their ongoing effectiveness. PMID: 28214474 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Australian Health Review - Category: Hospital Management Authors: Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: research