Developing a decision support system for geriatric patients in prehospital care

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Medicine
• Emergency Medical Services
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Geriatric patients often require specialized care pathways.
• Current prehospital decision-making for the elderly can be suboptimal.
• A need exists for improved tools to guide geriatric patient disposition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a prehospital decision support system (DSS).
• To facilitate safe and optimal healthcare steering for geriatric patients.
• To enhance emergency medical services (EMS) capabilities in geriatric care.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective data analysis of electronic patient care records.
• Expert consultation and iterative development of the DSS.
• Validation of the DSS tool and a pilot study of the complete system.

Main Results:

• A prehospital DSS was developed for 11 specific medical conditions.
• High compliance was observed between DSS recommendations and patient outcomes.
• In a pilot study, 33.9% of patients were triaged to alternative care (geriatric or primary care).
• No medical inaccuracies or secondary transports were identified.

Conclusions:

• The developed prehospital DSS enables safe decision-making for geriatric patient care.
• Swedish prehospital nurses can confidently use the DSS to determine optimal healthcare levels for elderly patients.