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Exploring physicians’ decision-making in hospital readmission processes - a comparative case study

Overview of attention for article published in BMC Health Services Research, September 2018
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Title
Exploring physicians’ decision-making in hospital readmission processes - a comparative case study
Published in
BMC Health Services Research, September 2018
DOI 10.1186/s12913-018-3538-3
Pubmed ID
Authors

Malin Knutsen Glette, Tone Kringeland, Olav Røise, Siri Wiig

Abstract

Hospital readmissions is an increasingly serious international problem, associated with higher risks of adverse events, especially in elderly patients. There can be many causes and influential factors leading to hospital readmissions, but they are often closely related, making hospital readmissions an overall complex area. In addition, a comprehensive coordination reform was introduced into the Norwegian healthcare system in 2012. The reform changed the premises for readmissions with economic incentives enhancing early transfer from secondary to primary care, making research on readmissions in the municipalities more urgent than ever. General practitioners (GPs) and nursing home physicians, have traditionally held a gatekeepers function in hospital readmissions from the municipal healthcare service, as they are the main decision-makers in questions of hospital readmissions. Still, the GPs' gatekeeper function is an under-investigated area in hospital readmission research. The aim of the study was to increase knowledge about factors that lead to hospital readmissions among elderly in municipal healthcare, with special attention to GPs' and nursing home physicians' decision making. The study was conducted as a comparative case study. Two municipalities affiliated with the same hospital, but with different readmission rates were recruited. Twenty GPs and nursing home physicians from each municipality were recruited and interviewed. Forty hours of observation were conducted during the huddles in one long-term and one short-term nursing home in each municipality. Seven themes describing how different factors influence physicians' decision-making in the hospital readmission process in two municipalities were identified. Poor communication, continuity and information flow account for hospital readmissions in both municipalities. Several factors, including nurse staffing and competence, patients and their families, time constraints and experience affected physicians' decision-making. Communication, continuity and information flow contributed to hospital readmissions in both municipalities. The cross-case analysis revealed slight differences between municipalities. More research focusing on GPs' and nursing home physicians' decision-making, nursing home nurses and home care nurses' experience of hospital readmissions and discharges is needed.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 97 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 97 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Bachelor 13 13%
Student > Master 11 11%
Researcher 7 7%
Student > Ph. D. Student 6 6%
Lecturer 6 6%
Other 23 24%
Unknown 31 32%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Nursing and Health Professions 22 23%
Medicine and Dentistry 12 12%
Social Sciences 5 5%
Business, Management and Accounting 4 4%
Neuroscience 3 3%
Other 18 19%
Unknown 33 34%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 20 September 2018.
All research outputs
#15,545,785
of 23,103,903 outputs
Outputs from BMC Health Services Research
#5,651
of 7,744 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#215,881
of 342,003 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Health Services Research
#139
of 172 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,103,903 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 22nd percentile – i.e., 22% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 7,744 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 7.8. This one is in the 17th percentile – i.e., 17% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 342,003 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 28th percentile – i.e., 28% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 172 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 10th percentile – i.e., 10% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.