Utilization of in-patient services by the elderly.

Abstract

AbstractThe authors present descriptive data on the 5,312 patients aged 65 or older, admitted in 1967 to the medical and surgical in‐patient services of the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. These patients accounted for 24 per cent of the total number of adults admitted. The services admitting most of the elderly were General Medicine, General Surgery, Urology, Ophthalmology and Neurology. These patients had a longer average stay in the hospital than the national average for hospitalized elderly; almost 20 per cent of them stayed thirty‐one days or longer. Over four‐fifths of the elderly were admitted to Private and Semi‐Private Pavilion accommodations, and the remainder entered the teaching services of the Semi‐Private Division. The Division patients had longer lengths of stay, on the average, than patients in the Pavilions. The patients referred to Social Service were chiefly from the General Medical, Neurological, and Orthopedic services. The most significant factor determining who was referred to Social Service was extended “length of stay.” Over half of the elderly receiving social services were patients whose hospital stays were thirty‐one days or longer.It is anticipated that the elderly will become a larger proportion of the sick, requiring more medical care and hospitalization. They will continue to use more bed‐days than any other group of patients. It is recommended that health‐care institutions become more consciously aware of the elderly and their impact on hospital resources, and that the hospital stay be regarded as one phase in a continuum of care.