A recent Irish study found that adding dedicated health and social care professional (HSCP) teams to traditional emergency department care for older patients resulted in reduced hospital stays, improved quality of life, and significant cost savings. The OPTI-MEND trial showed that investing in additional HSCP teams saved an average of €6,128 per patient treatment and could potentially save €2.4 billion annually nationally. The early assessment and intervention by the HSCP team led to shorter ED stays, fewer hospital re-admissions, and higher patient satisfaction. Researchers are now looking into the cost effectiveness of home-based comprehensive geriatric assessments.
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Dedicated care for older people in ED could save State €2.4 billion annually
