Dreyer K, et al. - Considering that older patients who are living alone often have complex health needs and require additional clinical and non-clinical support, researchers analyzed how living alone is associated with health care utilisation in elderly. For this purpose, they retrospectively studied a cohort of 1447 patients over the age of 64, living in 1275 households who were registered at a large general practice in South East London. Results revealed a significant association of living alone with a higher probability of utilizing Emergency Department and general practitioner services after adjusting for patient demographics and clinical characteristics. Further, they realized that older patients who are living alone can be identified using general practice data, and general practitioners are in a unique position to identify those who could benefit from additional clinical and non-clinical support.