Improving Older Adult Care Transitions, from the Emergency Department to Home: The Community Paramedic Transitions Intervention

Older adult patients are frequently treated and released from the emergency department. However, the discharge process often fails to fully prepare older adult patients for care at home, with 20-25% of these patients experiencing adverse health outcomes within 30 days of their initial visit (Shah et al. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2018;66(11):2213–20). In this chapter, we examine the Community Paramedic Transitions Intervention – Emergency Department (CPTI-ED) model and its implementation as a tool to assist in the ED-to-home transition for older adults. Results indicated the model was successful in increasing patient activation and that older adult patients with cognitive impairment had significantly lower ED revisits rates within 30 days of discharge. The CPTI-ED model is a novel support tool that can be used by patients and their care partners to navigate their health needs after an acute medical event. Further work is still needed to assess the cost-effectiveness of the model and its functionality in at-risk populations.