This edition of the Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics brings together, in one convenient volume, the results of many of the studies supported by the Hartford Foundation. The first two chapters of this volume set the stage for the specific research reports that follow. In the first chapter, Burke, Jolson, Goetsch, and Ahronheim review current information on medication use and the adverse drug events in the elderly from two natioanl data bases: The National Disease and Therapeutic Index and the Food and Drug Administration's Spontaneous Reporting System. The second chapters present the recent work of Beers in development of explicit criteria defining inappropriate medication use in the elderly.