An ideal population health outcome metric should reflect a population's dynamic state of physical, mental, and social well-being. Positive health outcomes include being alive; functioning well mentally, physically, and socially; and having a sense of well-being. Negative outcomes include death, loss of function, and lack of well-being. In contrast to these health outcomes, diseases and injuries...

The medical care of hospitalized geriatric patients must differ from the care of younger adults. Because of reduced "reserve capacity," hospitalized older adults are at high risk of development of geriatric syndromes such as delirium and falls. Geriatric syndromes often lead to functional decline and dependence. Patients who experience geriatric syndromes in the hospital are more likely to have...