“Errors in diagnosis are relatively common among older people. The reasons are many: older adults may have multiple conditions, take many medications, and illnesses can look very different in older people than they do in younger ones,” Ashley Milne-Tyte writes over at NPR. “Older adults may show different symptoms or none at all. And sometimes health care workers assume that whatever is bothering the patient is ‘because of your age.’ All this can lead to older patients being either under-treated or over-treated. Sometimes there are even worse outcomes. According to a recent study by researchers from Johns Hopkins University, almost 800,000 Americans die or are permanently disabled each year because of diagnostic errors. But as the population of older adults expands rapidly, more attention is being paid to how to successfully treat them. At Glen Cove Hospital on Long Island, a third of the people who arrive in the ER are over the age of 65. this emergency department is specially designed to accommodate older adults. Since late 2021, it has been accredited as a geriatric emergency department by the American College of Emergency Physicians. It’s one of more than 500 hospitals around the country that now has this designation. What that means in practice is that you’ll find plenty of subtle enhancements for safety and comfort that you wouldn’t find in a regular ER.” Ashley Milne-Tyte, “Older adults are often misdiagnosed. Specialized ERs and trained clinicians can help,” NPR.
