Evaluation of a care pathway for older adults presenting with nonspecific complaints at the emergency department: a before-and-after study

Aim: Management of older patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) with nonspecific complaints (NSC) is challenging. Therefore we implemented a structured care-pathway aiming to optimise diagnostics and treatment of this vulnerable population. Findings: NSC-patients showed increased comorbidities, polypharmacy and frailty. The implementation of the care-pathway showed non-significant trends towards improved diagnostic completeness, which might be associated with the reduced rate of 30-day readmissions. Patient reported outcomes measured in the intervention group, indicated a positive experience with the quality of care. Message: NSC-patients are a complex ED-population. The NSC-pathway showed trends towards improved diagnostic completeness and reduced 30-day readmission rates, but did not improve LOS-ED and LOS-H. Adaptation of the NSC-pathway could enhance effective and efficient care for this population.