Geriatric Depression Screening and Chief Complaint: What is the Risk for 30- and 90-day Readmission?

Abstract

Introduction Readmission to the hospital within 30-days has a high cost and represents a gap in care for older adults. Older adults are at significant risk for depression, particularly given their medical comorbidities and social factors such as isolation due to SARS-CoV-2. Many patients who screen positive for depression may have no known history of depression. This investigation examines the relationship between a positive geriatric depression screen and chief complaint as a function of 30-and 90-day readmission risk. Methods We examined the electronic medical record of 329 older adults aged 65 and older from February 1, 2020, to January 31, 2021, with a positive depression screen during an emergency department visit at a Midwest Geriatric Emergency Department. Their admission and final ICD-10 diagnosis coding groups (used as a surrogate to standardize chief complaint), social factors such as marital status, living environment, Orientation-Memory-Concentration Test score, and level of independence, were analyzed and considered as potential contributory factors. Results