Emergency department (ED) utilization of oldest old men in a veterans care home in Taiwan.
ED is a common channel for older people to seek for medical services. However, unlike most care homes in the world, veterans care home in Taiwan has a constantly operating outpatient and inpatient services. Therefore, utilization of ED services among veterans care home may be different from most care home residents. Records of residents in Banciao Veterans Home residents visiting the ED of Taipei Veterans General Hospital from January to December of 2006 were retrospectively collected and analyzed. Demographic variables including age, sex, modes of arrival, category of triage, time of visit, main presenting symptoms, principal diagnosis, medical expenditure and the disposition after the ED visit or after admission to wards were carefully recorded. In total, 368 residents (mean age=81.9+/-5.9 years, all men) with 635 visits were identified. Nearly a half of Banciao Veterans Home residents had visited ED for at least once in 2006 and the medical expenditure was four times higher than other ED visitors. In average, 52.3% of ED visitors would be hospitalized and the most common diagnosis was infectious conditions. Onsite primary care geriatricians may play an important role in such settings.
Chou
Ming-Yueh
MY
Department of Family Medicine, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Chou
Shang-Lin
SL
Tzeng
Yuann-Meei
YM
Chen
Liang-Kung
LK
Oliver
David
D
Yen
David-Hung Tsang
DH
Hwang
Shinn-Jang
SJ
Huang
Chun-I
CI
Tu
Ming-Shium
MS
Lee
Chen-Hsen
CH
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes; D010343:Patient Admission; D013624:Taiwan; D014728:Veterans