Seniors’ Visits to the Emergency Department (ED): A Fact Sheet

Summary of findings from RESDAC and HCUP data from 2013

HCUP SEDD & SID – California 2011

Document Date: March 16, 2017 

Seniors account for a disproportionate number of ED visits in the US.

In 2013, seniors (aged 65 and older) accounted for 14% of the US population, but 18% of all ED encounters. Seniors made 23.9 million visits to the ED in 2013, equivalent to 0.53 annual ED visits for every senior. Senior nursing home residents averaged an estimated 1.8 ED visits each from 2005 – 2010.

Once in the ED, seniors are more likely to be admitted to the hospital than others.

In 2013, 14% of all ED visits in the US resulted in hospitalization, but the rate for seniors was 36%. Seniors made up 46% of all ED visits resulting in hospitalization. Among those over 65 years old, the percent of hospitalizations originating in the ED increases with age.

The most common conditions seen in the ED are the same between seniors and adults aged 18-64, but seniors are much more likely to be hospitalized for these conditions.

The top 5 conditions seen among ED patients in 2013 nationally were the same between seniors and adults aged 18-64, but seniors were hospitalized much more often than non-senior adults for these conditions.

A significant percent of seniors discharged from the ED are readmitted to the ED within days.

In 2009, 4.2% of seniors discharged from the ED revisited within 72 hours. In 2011 for state of California, seniors accounted for approximately 1.3 million visits to the ED of which 15.9% of seniors discharged from the ED revisited within 30 days.

Figure 1: Patient Flow from ED to Hospital by Age Group