Journal
INJURY-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE CARE OF THE INJURED
Volume 36, Issue 11, Pages 1316-1322Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.injury.2005.05.024
Keywords
falls; older adults; acute care; cost
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Objectives: Falls in the older adults are a major public health concern. The growing population of adults 65 years or older, advances in medical care and changes in the costs of care motivated our study of the acute health care costs of fail-related injuries among the older adults in the United States of America. Design and settings: The MarketScan (R) Medicare Supplemental database 1998 was used to estimate reimbursed costs for hospital, emergency department (ED), and outpatient clinic treatments for unintentional falls among older adults. Results: A fall on the same level due to slipping, tripping, or stumbling was the most common mechanism of injury (28%). Mean hospitalisation cost was US$ 17,483 (S.D.: US$ 22,426) in 2004 US$. Femur fracture was the most expensive type of injury (US$ 18,638, S.D.: US$ 19,990). The mean reimbursement cost of an ED visit was US$ 236 and US$ 412 for an outpatient clinic visit. Conclusion: The magnitude of the economic and social costs of falls in older adults underscores the need for active research in the field of falls prevention. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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