which influence physicians' decisions to discharge patients from their practices. ... comprehensive list of US physicians not limited to AMA mem- bers. Students ...
Primary Care Physicians’ Decisions About Discharging Patients from Their Practices Neil J. Farber, MD, FACP1, Michelle E. Jordan, DO2, Julie Silverstein, MD, FACP2, Virginia U. Collier, MD, FACP2, Joan Weiner, PhD3, and E. Gil Boyer, EdD4 1
University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; 2Christiana Care Health System, Wilmington, DE, USA; 3Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA; 4New University Research Group, Irvine, CA, USA.
OBJECTIVE: There are few data available about factors which influence physicians’ decisions to discharge patients from their practices. To study general internists’ and family medicine physicians’ attitudes and experiences in discharging patients from their practices. DESIGN: A cross-sectional mailed survey was used. PARTICIPANTS: One thousand general internists and family medicine physicians participated in this study. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We studied the likelihood physicians would discharge 12 hypothetical patients from their practices, and whether they had actually discharged such patients. The effect of demographic data on the number of scenarios in which patients were likely to be discharged, and the number of patients actually discharged were analyzed via ANOVA and multiple logistic regression analysis. Of 977 surveys received by subjects, 526 (54%) were completed and returned. A majority of respondents were willing to discharge patients in 5 of 12 hypothetical scenarios. Eighty-five percent had actually discharged at least one patient from their practices. Most respondents (71%) had discharged 10 or fewer patients, but 14% had discharged 11 to 200 patients. Respondents who were in private practice (p
