ArticleBMJ (Clinical research ed.)1996
Alternatives to hospital care: what are they and who should decide?
Article in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 1996. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 66 citations in OpenAlex.
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- The hospital of the future. Better out than in? Alternatives to acute hospital care.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 1999Article
- Primary care education centres: educational innovation for all of the primary health care team is needed.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 1998Article
- General practitioners as advisers and coordinators in hospitals.Quality in health care : QHC · 1998Article
- A confidential enquiry into emergency hospital admissions on the Isle of Wight, UK.Journal of epidemiology and community health · 1997Article
- Emergency admission of patients to general surgical beds: attitudes of general practitioners, surgical trainees, and consultants in Liverpool, UK.Journal of epidemiology and community health · 1997Article
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- Alternative's to hospital care. Emergency consultation clinic's avert unnecessary admissions.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 1996Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo examine potential for alternatives to care in hospitals for acute admissions, and to compare the decisions about these alternatives made by clinicians with different backgrounds.
designStandardised tool was used to identify patients who could potentially be treated in an alternative form of care. Information about such patients was assessed by three panels of clinicians: general practitioners without experience of general practitioner beds, general practitioners with experience of general practitioner beds, and consultants.
settingOne hospital for acute admissions in a rural area of the South and West region of England. SUBJECTS: Of 620 patients admitted to specialties of general medicine and care of the elderly, details of 112 were assessed by panels.
main outcome measuresProportion of hospitalised patients who could have received alternative care and identification of most appropriate alternative form of care.
resultsBoth general practitioner panels estimated that between 51 and 89 of the hospitalised patients could have received alternative care (equivalent to 8-14% of all admissions). Consultants estimated that between 25 and 55 patients could have had alternative care (5.5-9% of all admissions). General practitioner bed and urgent outpatient appointment were the main alternatives chosen by all three panels.
conclusionAbout 10% of admissions to general hospital might be suitable for alternative forms of care. Doctors with different backgrounds made similar overall assessments of most appropriate forms of care.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.