Can a Rapid 2 Day Followup After Discharge From the ED Reduce Readmissions and Death for Patients 75 Years and Older?

A Randomized Trial of the Effect of a Geriatrics Appointment Within 2-3 Days of Discharge From the Emergency Department(ED) in Reducing ED and Hospital Readmissions for Patients 75 Years of Age and Older.

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01769495

Enrollment

Registered

2013-01-16

Start date

2013-08-31

Completion date

2014-09-30

Last updated

2017-04-17

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Emergencies

Keywords

Emergency department, Geriatrics, mortality, readmission rates., Patients 75 years of age and older.

Brief summary

Our hypothesis is that a rapid follow up for elderly patients in a Geriatric Clinic discharged from the Emergency Department (ED) will have fewer unplanned return ED visits and fewer unplanned hospital admissions with no attendant increase in mortality. Patients 75 years of age and older will be randomized following discharge from the ED into two groups. The first will receive standard post ED care. The second will receive an appointment to our Geriatric Clinic within 2-3 days for stabilization, further treatment and contact with the patient's primary physician to communicate the course of the patient's illness and to schedule subsequent follow-up with the patients regular medical provider. There will be two primary outcomes: The first will be a composite of morality and/or return to the ED at 30 days, and the secondary primary outcome will be mortality. Economic data regarding resource utilization by patients will also be analyzed.

Interventions

OTHER2-3 day return appointment

2-3 appointment in geriatric clinic following ED discharge

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

75 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* All patients 75 years of age and older discharged from the ED

Exclusion criteria

* Younger than 75.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Mortality and readmissions to emergency department	30 and 180 days

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Mortality	30 and 180 days	Secondary outcome to measure all cause mortality for patients admitted to the study.

Other

Measure	Time frame
Medical Resource utilization	30 days and 180 days

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026