Research indicates that specialized geriatric ERs are not only preferred by elderly patients but provide a more efficient service. The study was conducted in the United States and included 1,779 Medicare beneficiaries who were eligible for hospice care. Geriatric ERs are largely preferred by elderly patients because of a shorter waiting time, quieter noise levels and specialized physicians and nurses. The ERs also provide more efficient diagnoses which reduces pressure on the hospitals. Through using specialized personnel elderly patients are not sent unnecessarily through to hospitals, they are also not subjected to unnecessary testing or exposed to all the normal bugs of a generic ER.
Research indicates that specialized geriatric ERs are not only preferred by elderly patients but provide a more efficient service. Geriatric ERs have experienced a recent 'boomlet' across the US due to the aging population, there are currently more than 100 geriatric ERs with the first having opened its doors in New Jersey in 2008. Geriatric ERs are largely preferred by elderly patients because of a shorter waiting time, quieter noise levels and specialized physicians and nurses. The ERs also provide more efficient diagnoses which reduces pressure on the hospitals. Through using specialized personnel elderly patients are not sent unnecessarily through to hospitals, they are also not subjected to unnecessary testing or exposed to all the normal bugs of a generic ER.