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Attending physicians believe that hospitalized patients are treated at the appropriate level of care : A qualitative study

Mauritzon, Ingela ; Blom, Mathias LU ; Borna, Catharina LU and Ivarsson, Kjell LU (2016) In International Journal of Healthcare Management 9(4). p.219-224
Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the appropriateness of hospitalized patients’ level of care as assessed by their treating physicians. The study was conducted as a qualitative study, based on a questionnaire. The study suggests that physicians generally believe that patients who occupy in-hospital beds are cared for at the appropriate level of care. It is worth to note that a relatively large fraction of patients have had their medical needs attended to, but remain hospitalized while waiting for municipal action. Successful downsizing of in-hospital bed-capacity assumes that either a segment of patients who are inappropriately hospitalized exists and could be identified, or that viable alternatives to in-hospital care exist... (More)

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the appropriateness of hospitalized patients’ level of care as assessed by their treating physicians. The study was conducted as a qualitative study, based on a questionnaire. The study suggests that physicians generally believe that patients who occupy in-hospital beds are cared for at the appropriate level of care. It is worth to note that a relatively large fraction of patients have had their medical needs attended to, but remain hospitalized while waiting for municipal action. Successful downsizing of in-hospital bed-capacity assumes that either a segment of patients who are inappropriately hospitalized exists and could be identified, or that viable alternatives to in-hospital care exist and are available. The results of the present study argue against the first statement. However, we have identified a segment of patients who experience an unnecessarily long in-patient length of stay due to waiting times for municipal action and other post-discharge follow-up measures. Alternatives to in-hospital care which deserve further attention are supporting services in the outpatient setting.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Delayed discharge, Hospital overcrowding, Patient flows
in
International Journal of Healthcare Management
volume
9
issue
4
pages
6 pages
publisher
Maney Publishing
external identifiers
  • scopus:84994316362
ISSN
2047-9700
DOI
10.1179/2047971915Y.0000000021
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
1a0aae5e-1ed1-449c-a57a-d610d960cd3c
date added to LUP
2016-12-07 12:50:46
date last changed
2024-01-04 18:15:05
@article{1a0aae5e-1ed1-449c-a57a-d610d960cd3c,
  abstract     = {{<p>The purpose of this paper is to investigate the appropriateness of hospitalized patients’ level of care as assessed by their treating physicians. The study was conducted as a qualitative study, based on a questionnaire. The study suggests that physicians generally believe that patients who occupy in-hospital beds are cared for at the appropriate level of care. It is worth to note that a relatively large fraction of patients have had their medical needs attended to, but remain hospitalized while waiting for municipal action. Successful downsizing of in-hospital bed-capacity assumes that either a segment of patients who are inappropriately hospitalized exists and could be identified, or that viable alternatives to in-hospital care exist and are available. The results of the present study argue against the first statement. However, we have identified a segment of patients who experience an unnecessarily long in-patient length of stay due to waiting times for municipal action and other post-discharge follow-up measures. Alternatives to in-hospital care which deserve further attention are supporting services in the outpatient setting.</p>}},
  author       = {{Mauritzon, Ingela and Blom, Mathias and Borna, Catharina and Ivarsson, Kjell}},
  issn         = {{2047-9700}},
  keywords     = {{Delayed discharge; Hospital overcrowding; Patient flows}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{10}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{219--224}},
  publisher    = {{Maney Publishing}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Healthcare Management}},
  title        = {{Attending physicians believe that hospitalized patients are treated at the appropriate level of care : A qualitative study}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/2047971915Y.0000000021}},
  doi          = {{10.1179/2047971915Y.0000000021}},
  volume       = {{9}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}