Age‐Based Variations in Frequent Emergency Department (ED) Use Among Older Adults: An Analysis Using the New York University–Johns Hopkins University Emergency Department Algorithm (NYU/JHU‐EDA)

ABSTRACT Population aging impacts the utilization of health services, especially in Emergency Departments (EDs). A rising share of older adults in the US report ED use, especially frequent ED use, defined as ≥ 4 visits annually. Prior works have examined frequent utilization of EDs among geriatric populations, but no study has focused on age‐based trends or examined type of ED care sought by different age groups. Thus, using the 2017‐2019 State Emergency Department Databases (SEDD), we examined how types of ED care influenced frequent ED utilization among geriatric patients in Maryland across the three age groups of youngest‐old (65–74), middle‐old (75–84), and oldest‐old (85 and above), after controlling for covariates. Types of ED care included emergent, primary‐care‐sensitive conditions (PCSC), injuries, and behavioral conditions which were identified using the New York University–Johns Hopkins University Emergency Department Algorithm. Over the study period, frequent geriatric users made up 13.86% and 3.68% of all ED visits and ED patients respectively. The probabilities for being a frequent user was the lowest for nonsevere injuries (2.3%–2.7%) and the highest for care related to alcohol, drug, and psychological disorders (ADP: 5.0%–8.7%). The youngest‐old and middle‐old had a higher predicted probability of visiting the ED frequently for PCSC (4.1%) compared to the oldest‐olds (3.8%). The youngest‐old had the highest predicted probability of visiting the ED frequently for ADP (8.7%), while the oldest‐old reported the highest predicted probability of visiting the ED frequently for severe injuries (3.7%). These findings are critical to healthcare stakeholders to better understand the heterogeneous medical needs of the different older adult age groups.