Emergency room consultation policy prevents surgery delay in elderly patients with hip fractures

Clinical guidelines for the management of hip fractures strongly emphasize the critical role of early surgery as a major factor affecting better health outcomes. Shortening the time from admission to pre-operative consultation by bringing the consultants to the emergency room, before patient admission to the orthopedic ward, is an efficient cost effective hospital policy that enables adherence to guideline recommendations. Early pre-operative specialist consultation is an efficient cost effective policy for preventing delay of surgery following hip fracture in the elderly.