A Retrospective Investigation of Emergency Department Revisits in Turkish Older Patients

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to examine the healthcare services received by adults aged 65 and over who visit the emergency department within 30 days of being discharged from their index admission, and it aims to establish a relationship between the healthcare services received and the revisits. Methods: Data were collected from the electronic records of 36,205 older patients who revisited the emergency department of a public training and research hospital. Patients were classified as revisiting if they returned to the ED within 30 days of discharge from their index visit. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize patient characteristics. Binary logistic regression assessed the impact of triage tag color, prior hospital visits, and outpatient clinic utilization on ED revisits. Results: Patients with a red triage tag were over six times more likely to be hospitalized than those with a yellow tag. Those who had visited the hospital within the previous 30 days were 37% more likely to return to the emergency department. Outpatient visits to internal medicine, cardiology, and pulmonology clinics increased revisit likelihood by 94%, 142%, and 244%, respectively. Conversely, patients receiving home healthcare were 65% less likely to revisit the emergency department. Conclusion: Outpatient service utilization are strongly associated with emergency department revisits among older adults. Enhancing access to primary care and improving coordination between specialists and family physicians may reduce unnecessary emergency department utilization. Policymakers should prioritize expanding primary care services and implementing remote follow-up systems to support continuity of care.