Search

ObjectivesTo explore hospital physicians’ views on readmission and discharge processes in the interface between hospitals and municipalities.DesignQualitative case study.SettingThe Norwegian healthcare system.ParticipantsFifteen hospital physicians (residents and consultants) from one hospital, involved in the treatment and discharge of patients.ResultsThe results of this study showed that patients were being discharged earlier, with more complex medical conditions, than they had been previously, and that discharges sometimes were perceived as premature. Insufficient capacity at the hospital resulted in pressure to discharge patients, but the primary healthcare service of the area was not always able to assume care of these patients. Communication between levels of the healthcare service was limited. The hospital stay summary was the most important, and sometimes only, form of communication between levels. The discharge process was described as complicated and was affected by healthcare personnel, by patients themselves and by aspects of the primary healthcare service. Early hospital discharges, poor communication between healthcare services and inadequacies in the discharge process were perceived to affect hospital readmissions.ConclusionThe results of this study provide a better understanding of hospital physicians’ views on the discharge and hospital readmission processes in the interface between the hospital and the primary healthcare service. The study also identifies discrepancies in governmental requirements, reform regulations and current practices in municipalities and hospitals.

Twelve captive wild-caught adult arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus) were anesthetized a total of 24 times for an equal number of surgical procedures involving implantation of heart rate (HR) and core body temperature transmitters (Tb) between October 1995 and April 1997. Xylazine–ketamine and medetomidine–ketamine anesthesia was used, resulting in an unacceptably high death rate. One out of four foxes anesthetized with xylazine–ketamine died, whereas two of nine foxes anesthetized with medetomidine–ketamine died out of a total of 20 surgical procedures. Durations of the surgeries for implantation of Tb transmitters and HR transmitters were 73 ± 7 min and 95 ± 13 min, respectively.

This report lays out a comprehensive strategy by which government, health care providers, industry, and consumers can reduce preventable medical errors. Concluding that the know-how already exists to prevent many of these mistakes, the report sets as a minimum goal a 50 percent reduction in errors over the next five years. In its recommendations for reaching this goal, the committee strikes a balance between regulatory and market-based initiatives, and between the roles of professionals and organizations.

The aim of the present study was to examine the association between being a Seventh-Day Adventist and risk factors for disease, pregnancy outcome, cancer incidence, site-specific mortality and total mortality in an unselected Seventh-Day Adventist population.