Health Outcome Prioritization as a Tool for Decision Making Among Older Persons With Multiple Chronic Conditions

Abstract

Older persons with multiple chronic conditions are at substantial risk for unintended adverse outcomes, such as medication adverse events. Less-severe adverse events are commonly referred to as “side effects,” implying that they are secondary to disease-specific benefits. However, patients consider these adverse events to be important outcomes in their own right.¹ Such findings suggest that all possible benefits and harms resulting from different treatment options be considered as competing outcomes, among which older persons with multiple chronic conditions face trade-offs.