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Purpose of Review <p>Older adults comprise a growing share of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) encounters in the United States. As frequent users, older adults contribute disproportionately to prehospital workload and experience outcomes shaped by frailty, multimorbidity, polypharmacy, and cognitive vulnerability. This review summarizes current and identifies future research priorities for EMS care of older adults.</p> Recent Findings <p>Themes at the intersection of EMS and geriatrics over the last 5 years were organized based on the “4Ms:” What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility, in addition to “Multicomplexity.” The literature is representative of several continents and depicts background information and creative solutions to care for older adults. Understanding patient and provider perspectives, addressing medications, adapting techniques to manage cognitive impairment, and fall prevention are common motifs.</p> Summary <p>EMS–geriatrics evidence remains dominated by descriptive studies and fall research. Future work should prioritize scalable age-friendly prehospital protocols, ED–EMS integration, novel mechanisms for symptom management, and implementation strategies.</p>

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From Dispatch to Disposition: Age-Friendly Emergency Medical Services for Older Adults Using the 4Ms

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月23日

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  • Leah Steckler,
  • Priyanka Shrestha,
  • Priya Mukhi,
  • Albert Lee,
  • Aahana Kidambi

摘要

Purpose of Review

Older adults comprise a growing share of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) encounters in the United States. As frequent users, older adults contribute disproportionately to prehospital workload and experience outcomes shaped by frailty, multimorbidity, polypharmacy, and cognitive vulnerability. This review summarizes current and identifies future research priorities for EMS care of older adults.

Recent Findings

Themes at the intersection of EMS and geriatrics over the last 5 years were organized based on the “4Ms:” What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility, in addition to “Multicomplexity.” The literature is representative of several continents and depicts background information and creative solutions to care for older adults. Understanding patient and provider perspectives, addressing medications, adapting techniques to manage cognitive impairment, and fall prevention are common motifs.

Summary

EMS–geriatrics evidence remains dominated by descriptive studies and fall research. Future work should prioritize scalable age-friendly prehospital protocols, ED–EMS integration, novel mechanisms for symptom management, and implementation strategies.