“Elderly patients who get treated for illnesses or injuries in the emergency department (ED) are at risk of increased disability for up to six months afterward, a recent study suggests.  …  ‘This does not mean that these patients should have avoided the emergency department or that they should have been hospitalized,’ Fleischman, who completed the study as a researcher at Yale University, added by email. ‘Rather, it suggests that older adults who are medically appropriate for discharge from the emergency department may benefit from the kind of discharge planning that often occurs in the inpatient setting.”

LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform):
Makes sense.  Falls cause emergency visits and often lead to longer term disability.  Discharge planning at that stage could avoid or minimize related problems later. 

Elderly face increased disability risk after emergency room visit

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