Qualitative analysis of disposition decision making for patients referred for admission from the emergency department without definite medical acuity.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To map the physician approach when determining disposition for a patient who presents without the level of definite medical acuity that would generally warrant hospitalisation.

Data sources/study setting

Since 2018, our US academic county hospital/trauma centre has maintained a database in which hospitalists ('triage physicians') document the rationale and outcomes of requests for admission to the acute care medical ward during each shift.

Study design

Narrative text from the database was analysed using a grounded theory approach to identify major themes and subthemes, and a conceptual model of the admission decision-making process was constructed.

Participants

Database entries were included (n=300) if the admission call originated from the emergency

SUBMITTER: Trinh T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8281073 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature