The 4 M’s: What Every Specialist Should Know

Providing individualized care to older adults hinges on understanding their goals. The “Four M’s” - ?What matters most, medication, mentation and mobility - provides a framework for understanding an individual’s health care goals. “What matters most” is perhaps the anchor of the four and is often the most difficult to determine. Starting with understanding “what matters most” to an individuals helps those providing health care align diagnostic and treatment decisions with the patient’s health care preferences.