Association of Geriatric Emergency Department Care With Hospitalization and Mortality in Older Adults

Background: Since 2018, the Geriatric Emergency Department (GED) Accreditation Program has recognized Emergency Departments (EDs) that provide high-quality care tailored to older adults. GEDs have expanded rapidly across the United States in recent years, but little is known about how GED care is associated with patient outcomes, including hospital admissions and subsequent mortality. Methods: We used the 2018–2021 Health and Retirement Study (HRS)-Medicare linked data of adults aged ≥ 65 years. We supplemented these data with the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) GED accreditation list and American Hospital Association (AHA) data. Receipt of acute care in a GED was defined as having an ED visit at a GED. Patient-level analyses were conducted using each individual's most recent ED visit. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate associations between receipt of acute care in a GED and outcomes of hospital admission and 30-day mortality, adjusting for patient demographics, socioeconomic status, health conditions, ED visit severity, and hospital-level characteristics. Results: Among 4563 older adults who had an ED visit, 270 (5.9%) received acute care in GEDs and 4293 (94.1%) received non-GED care. Compared with those treated in non-GEDs, patients treated in GEDs had significantly lower odds of hospital admission (OR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.42–0.87; p < 0.01) and 30-day mortality (OR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.40–0.96; p < 0.05). Subgroup analyses showed that the association with admission was more pronounced among adults aged 65–80 years (OR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.24–0.76; p < 0.01) and non-Hispanic White individuals (OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.34–0.78). An association with lower mortality was observed among non-Hispanic White individuals (OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.30–0.87; p < 0.05). Conclusions: GED care was associated with lower odds of hospital admissions and 30-day mortality among older adults. Broader implementation may expand the reach of GED programs across diverse populations.