Screening and Assessment
Older people, with complex medical and surgical problems, move through our EDs every day. This section discusses practices necessary for the proper assessment of older people in the ED that will ensure discharge plans that are safe and durable. Emerg physicians excel at rapid and focussed management of medical problems, however sometimes find the other necessary components of the assessment – cognitive, functional, psycho-social – to be challenging, time- and resource-intensive. Proper policies and procedures surrounding screening and assessment will help overcome these challenges.
The interRAI ED Assessment System
Numerous studies have shown that emergency departments (EDs) are less effective in dealing with the complex needs of vulnerable older people. This is due, at least in part, to the failure to provide ...Read More
Screening Tools for High-Risk Older Adults: Which To Choose?
Part of the role of the emergency department is risk stratification. Like for acute coronary syndrome, TIA, pulmonary embolism, frail older adults can be screened in the ED. Not only they can be scre...Read More
Screening Tools for Delirium, Dementia and Functional Decline
A number of tools can be added to the ED work flow to better identify older patients with important conditions that will make a difference to their care in the ED, their care if admitted, and appropr...Read More
Examples of Change
These examples all relate to Screening and Assessment.
