Iatrogenic Illness in Hospitalized Elderly People

r. Gorbien Iatrogenic illness-defined as physician-induced illnesses-is recognized as a seD rious health hazard of old age, particularly during hospitalization. Growing awareness results from several factors, including rising public expectations from high technology medicine, an increasing sense of patient vulnerability, and a trend by the medical community to monitor its own activities. Hospitalization of elderly persons is associated with serious risks, apart from those of the disease process and treatment modalities themselves, arising from such factors as immobility, medications, diagnostic procedures, and infections. Geriatricians must become active participants in an evolution in medical decision-making that will lead to safer care of older people in and out of institutions. What follows is a discussion of common aspects of iatrogenic illness against the backdrop of a case study.