EP Monthly - By Probst M and Kanzaria H - December 12, 2016
"There was a nearly 50% decrease in adult mortality in the ED between 1997 and 2011. A new study explores why.
The Emergency Department (ED) is far from an ideal place to die. Yet over half of elderly adults in the United States visit the ED in their final month of life. ED visits ending in death are trying for everyone involved – patients, caregivers, and providers alike – and also represent significant costs to the health care system. Ideally, we’d want a health care system designed to allow patients to spend their final hours with their loved ones, in an environment that facilitates appropriate mourning and palliative care. So, how often are patients actually dying in the chaotic emergency department rather than in this ideal environment?..."
