Use of Medical Resources by The Elderly Population in Emergency Department

Background: The overall aging of the Korean and the unprecedented expansion of the 65 years and older age group created an imperative situation for the specialty of emergency medicine. Elderly will create the greatest challenge and consume the most emergency department resources than any segment of our population. They are also more likely to require prolonged stays in the ED, secondary to the complexity of their evaluations and therapeutic interventions. Methods: We performed a retrospective study on all ED visits at Eulji Medical Center during the period from Jan 1, 2005 to Dec, 31, 2005. We assessed ED utilization by admission ratio, time in ED stay, ICU admissions, level of services, survival rate and financial aspects. Results: During this period 31,577 patients visited the ED and 6,309 patients were admitted, and 15% is elderly. The admission rate of older patient is 36.5%, 12.5% in the ICU. Older patient who need X-ray is 79.5%, and need laboratory test is 52%. Time of ED stay is 188.76 +/- 177.18 minute and ED charges are 240,720 +/- 188,970 won. Hospital stays of ED admissions are 18.81 +/- 41.04 days, and 11.2% hospital death. Conclusion: Compared with younger persons, older adults use emergency services at a higher rate, because they need more diagnostic studies and physician's attention, they have longer stays and spent more money in the emer gency department, they are more likely to be admitted in both general ward and intensive care unit, and they-experience higher rates of adverse health outcomes after admission. All systems of traditional care delivery will be challenged by the increasing number of elderly persons in our society.