ReviewJournal of multimorbidity and comorbidity2022
Definition of patient complexity in adults: A narrative review.
Review in Journal of multimorbidity and comorbidity, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
44 citing papers in PubMed.
- The impact of discharge letter content on unplanned hospital readmissions within 30 and 90 days in older adults with chronic illness - a mixed methods study.BMC geriatrics · 2024Trial
- Beyond the sum of its parts: a scoping review on complex mental health care needs.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Review
- Bridging gaps in the care of people under the age of 60 with complex impairments through cross-indication home-based rehabilitation: a cross-sectional survey with experts in Germany.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- HealthCare Complexity Index (HCIn): A Clinical Decision-Making Tool for Primary Care.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Moments of Change in Group Psychotherapy: Exploring Therapeutic Factors and Relational Processes.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Article
- Caring in Ambulance Encounters With Older Patients With Complex Care Needs: A Phenomenographic Study.Scandinavian journal of caring sciences · 2026Article
- High- and Low-Complexity Features of Non-Critical Adult Patients in the Emergency Department.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Caregiver perceptions of the impact and effect of family conferences for patients with complex and high-level palliative care needs: a cross-sectional survey study.BMC palliative care · 2026Observational
- Improving Clinical Patient Activation and Strengthening Health Outcomes: Findings from a Quasi-Experimental Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- What makes patients in primary care complex? A scoping review combined with a focus group analysis.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2025Article
- Definitions and operationalizations of pediatric chronic patients: a scoping review.European journal of pediatrics · 2025Article
- What does 'complex' mean for the general medicine team? Exploring the characteristics, outcomes and clinician perspectives of complex patients: an observational cohort and cross-sectional survey.Internal medicine journal · 2025Observational
- Effects of biopsychosocial complexity and pain-related factors on opioid prescription in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain.Pain reports · 2025Article
- Article
- Medical complexity and healthcare utilization among patients attending three U.S. post-COVID clinics.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Assessing the Alignment Between the Humpty Dumpty Fall Scale and Fall Risk Nursing Diagnosis in Pediatric Patients: A Retrospective ROC Curve Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Social Capital in Care for Complex Patients: A Pilot Study to Develop an Instrument for Measuring the Impact of Social Capital in Healthcare in Croatia.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Ambulance clinicians' perspectives on interprofessional collaboration in prehospital emergency care for older patients with complex care needs: a mixed-methods study.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Shattering the Shield: Embracing Complexity in Undergraduate Medical Education.The clinical teacher · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Better identification of complex patients could help to improve their care. However, the definition of patient complexity itself is far from obvious. We conducted a narrative review to identify, describe, and synthesize the definitions of patient complexity used in the last 25 years. Methods: We searched PubMed for articles published in English between January 1995 and September 2020, defining patient complexity. We extended the search to the references of the included articles. We assessed the domains presented in the definitions, and classified the definitions as based on (1) medical aspects (e.g., number of conditions) or (2) medical and/or non-medical aspects (e.g., socio-economic status). We assessed whether the definition was based on a tool (e.g., index) or conceptual model. Results: Among 83 articles, there was marked heterogeneity in the patient complexity definitions. Domains contributing to complexity included health, demographics, behavior, socio-economic factors, healthcare system, medical decision-making, and environment. Patient complexity was defined according to medical aspects in 30 (36.1%) articles, and to medical and/or non-medical aspects in 53 (63.9%) articles. A tool was used in 36 (43.4%) articles, and a conceptual model in seven (8.4%) articles. Conclusion: A consensus concerning the definition of patient complexity was lacking. Most definitions incorporated non-medical factors in the definition, underlining the importance of accounting not only for medical but also for non-medical aspects, as well as for their interrelationship.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.