OAs Report Worse Hospital Care Experience Compared With Younger Patients

Findings showed patients aged 75 years and older reported less-positive care experiences, particularly related to communication when compared with patients aged 55 to 74 years.

Researchers compared patient-mix adjusted Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) Survey scores across 4358 hospitals for 19 experience of care items among patients either aged greater than 75 years with patients aged between 55-74 years. Observed age patterns for inpatient experiences were contrasted with 2019 Medicare CAHPS (MCAHPS) Survey respondent data.

Interactions of age group with patient and hospital characteristics were also tested. Less-positive experiences were reported among patients aged 75 years and older (31% of all HCAHPS respondents) for 18 of 19 substantive HCAHPS items (mean difference -3.3% points) compared to those aged 55 to 74 years.

“Age differences in HCAHPS top-box scores were large (>5 points) for 1 of 3 Nurse Communication items, 1 of 3 Doctor Communication, 2 of 2 Communication about Medication items, 1 of 2 Discharge Information items, and 2 of 3 Care Transition items,” wrote researchers. "In contrast, for MCAHPS, those aged 75 and older reported similar experiences to younger adults.”

Across hospitals the magnitude of age differences varied significantly with substantial age disparities for older patients at some hospitals and no disparities at others.

For patients in nonprofit and government hospitals as well as in the Pacific region compared to other parts of the United States, age differences were generally smaller.

According to study authors, variation in age disparities across hospitals may help identify best practices.

“Further study should investigate the effectiveness of hospital staffs' communication with older patients,” concluded researchers. “Hospital protocols designed for younger patients may need to be adjusted to meet the needs of older patients. There may also be opportunities to learn from outpatient interactions with older patients.”

Reference:
Elliot MN, Beckett MK, Cohea C, et al. The hospital care experiences of older patients compared to younger patients. J Am Geriatr Soc. Published online August 19, 2022. doi:10.1111/jgs.18003