[Senior-friendly hospital: The hospital of the 21st century]

Abstract

The current health system must be revolutionized to meet the specific and real requirements of the largest population attended, older adults, and tailor the hospital to their needs, not the other way round. This is the goal of Hospital Universitario Infanta Leonor: senior-friendly hospital. The project was established as a business process management system integrated into the management's hospital map. Four subprocesses were defined, as were all activities and tasks to be performed. The subprocesses are health care (delirium and functional decline prevention and the identification of frail older patients), training, the environment and its structures, and patient and family involvement. The leadership corresponds to the geriatricians who coordinate a multidisciplinary team of the project's referents. Actions must be scientific, evidence-based, rigorous, and evaluable, and they should be audited. The final aim is to change established mentalities, routines, and habits to convert the hospital to a friendlier place for older adults.

Keywords: Calidad asistencial; Care quality; Delirium; Deterioro funcional; Functional decline; Gestión; Hospital amable; Management; Older adults; Persona mayor; Senior-friendly hospital.