VALIDATION OF A SCREENING TOOL FOR ED TO IDENTIFY OLDER AUSTRALIANS IN NEED OF SPECIALIST ASSESSMENT

EDs are inefficient at diagnosing and treating elderly people with geriatric complexity. To meet the needs of older adults in ED, high risk screening for those most in need of targeted assessments, risk reduction interventions, as well as those who would benefit from community based care/services is warranted. The aim of this study is to validate the interRAI ED Screener to categorize high risk older adults at triage. 364 patients (50% female) aged 70+ years, presenting to ED were assessed with the interRAI ED screener. The interRAI ED screener scores were compared with hospital identified frail elderly persons whose needs are sufficiently complex to warrant further assessment, as well as those most in need of specialist support services after leaving ED. Secondly, we tested for an association between the interRAI ED screener score and hospital admission (N=364), ED representations (N=102), referrals for specialist services (N=364), and prolonged length of hospital stay (N=262). Implementing the interRAI ED screener instrument into EDs may help identify those in need of further comprehensive geriatric assessment. An implementation case study will be described as one site has adopted the screener as part of standard clinical practice.