Triggering palliative care referrals through the identification of poor prognosis in older patients presented to emergency departments in rural Australia.

Without objective screening for risk of death, the palliative care needs of older patients near the end of life may be unrecognised and unmet. This study aimed to estimate the usefulness of the Criteria for Screening and Triaging to Appropriate aLternative care (CriSTAL) tool in determining older patients' risk of death within 3-months after initial hospital admission. A prospective cohort study of 235 patients aged 70+ years, who presented to two rural emergency departments in two adjacent Australian states, was utilised.