• Meghan G Donaldson, Karim M Khan, Jennifer C Davis, Allison E Salter, Jan Buchanan, Doug McKnight, Patti A Janssen, Margie Bell, and Heather A McKay.
• Department of Health Care and Epidemiology, 5804 Fairview Ave., Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z3.
• Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2005 Nov 1; 41 (3): 311-7.

AbstractWe wanted to determine whether women aged 70 years and older, who presented to the emergency department (ED) with a fall and injury, received guideline care within 18 months of presentation. Women aged 70 years and older who presented to the ED with a fall were recorded prospectively from August 1, 2001 to May 1, 2002 (n=226). Structured telephone interviews were performed 18 months after the ED fall to obtain details of patient management (n=63). The most frequently reported referral was to the family physician (32%) and to physiotherapy (24%). We concluded that most older women who presented to the ED with a fall did not appear to be receiving current guideline care. We propose that future research use a prospective study design to assess whether or not guideline care is being delivered by a variety of health care providers after the patients leave the ED.

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