There is an increasing number of older patients visiting the Emergency Department (ED). Older patients are longer in the ED and have a greater chance of admission, which causes organizational problems. But older patients also have a greater chance of other undesirable outcomes, such as mortality or loss of function. They present themselves more often with atypical complaints, or with complaints that are specific to older people, such as falls or confusion. Therefore, it is a challenge for health care providers to provide optimal care for acutely presenting older patients.
The APOP screening program has been developed to identify older patients at highest risks of undesirable outcomes and to improve outcomes by providing extra care. The APOP program consists of a screening instrument, interventions in the ED for high risk patients, transfer of data to subsequent care providers on discharge or admission and training of health care providers.
Content of this application:
- The APOP screener. It consists of 9 questions and can easily be administered in the ED. The screener results in the individual risk of an older patient on:
- Functional decline and/or mortality within 3 months
- Signs of impaired cognition
The result of the APOP screener is for personal use, this is not stored in the application.
- Videos. The videos give background on how the APOP screener can be used in the ED, what the result of the screener means, what interventions can it lead to and how results can be transferred to subsequent care providers.
- Scientific context. The APOP screening program is developed on the basis of scientific research. List of publications originating from the APOP study can be found here.
More information
Website: www.apop.eu
Twitter: @APOPLeiden
Developed by:
APOP
IEMO
LUMC
Made possible by:
ZonMw, project nr. 6270040011
Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport