Emergency department fall-related presentations do not trigger fall risk assessment: a gap in care of high-risk outpatient fallers.

We wanted to determine whether women aged 70 years and older, who presented to the emergency department (ED) with a fall and injury, received guideline care within 18 months of presentation. Women aged 70 years and older who presented to the ED with a fall were recorded prospectively from August 1, 2001 to May 1, 2002 (n=226). Structured telephone interviews were performed 18 months after the ED fall to obtain details of patient management (n=63). The most frequently reported referral was to the family physician (32%) and to physiotherapy (24%). We concluded that most older women who presented to the ED with a fall did not appear to be receiving current guideline care. We propose that future research use a prospective study design to assess whether or not guideline care is being delivered by a variety of health care providers after the patients leave the ED.