Resource use of elderly emergency department patients with alcohol-related diagnoses

The study results revealed that the presence of a secondary alcohol-related diagnosis significantly increased resource use (37-119% for length of stay and 126-343% for charges; p < .05) associated with the top 10 International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification Clinical Classifications Software diagnoses. They also showed that admissions with an alcohol-related primary diagnosis had lower associated charges ($2,172; p < .05) and longer lengths of stay (0.3 days; p < .05) than other types of ED admissions. Proper linkages to substance abuse treatment services should be instituted and coupled with medical treatment to limit the additional resource use burden of alcohol-related admissions.