How do emergency physicians make discharge decisions?

ABSTRACT:

Background

One of the most important decisions that emergency department (ED) physicians make is patient disposition (admission vs discharge).

Objectives

To determine how ED physicians perceive their discharge decisions for high-acuity patients and the impact on adverse events (adverse outcomes associated with healthcare management).

Methods

We conducted a real-time survey of staff ED physicians discharging consecutive patients from high-acuity areas of a tertiary care ED. We asked open-ended questions about rationale for discharge decisions and use of clinical judgement versus evidence. We searched for 30-day flagged outcomes (deaths, unscheduled admissions, ED or clinic visits). Three trained blinded ED physicians independently reviewed these for adverse events and

SUBMITTER: Calder LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4283689 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature