Background and objectives: Population ageing has hugely increased hospital utilization and expenditures in Europe. Older inpatients aged 65 and over account now for half of acute care hospitals’ admissions and bed-days. However, frailty, chronic multimorbidity, disability, polypharmacy and the complexity of care expose elderly inpatients to an increased risk of potentially preventable adverse events (PPAEs).
According to the Swiss Health2020 Reform and the French National Health Strategy that both promote safety measurements in inpatient and outpatient settings, we aim to develop and validate in-hospital and post-hospital elderly patient safety indicators (EPSIs) using hospital administrative data linked to insurance claims data to inform health policies, help patients’ choice, and improve equity and efficiency.