Background: The Acute Care for Elders (ACE) unit is an evidence-based system of acute hospital care starting from admission, designed to maintain or achieve independence and avoid preventable adverse events for older adults. However, little is known about how many ACE units exist and the variety of ways hospitals have implemented this evidence-based clinical model. [...]

Background: Inpatient subspecialty consultation is one of the most common physician practices in the care of hospitalized patients. As per a CMS report, approximately 33,000 inpatient consultation occurred per day in 2008 costing Medicare approximately $1.9 billion. Common reasons for requesting a consultation include assistance with treatment, diagnosis, and request for a procedure. Consult quality [...]