Pictorial outcome measures for the hospital care of older patients--a suggested toolkit.

Objective: to propose three pictorial methods of presenting hospital outcome data, suitable for use in older patients entering medical specialties (including rehabilitation).

Patients: 224 patients (mean age 80.6 years, 56% female, 75% emergencies) admitted to a department of medicine for the elderly.

Influenza and pneumococcal vaccination: patient perceptions.

The efficacy of the influenza vaccine in reducing mortality and hospital admissions is established, particularly in the elderly. However, up to 50% of those at risk do not receive the vaccine. These patients are also at risk from pneumococcal infection and there is considerable overlap between the target group for each vaccine.