TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence of and reasons for patients leaving against medical advice from paediatric wards in Oman
AU - Al-Ghafri, Mohamed
AU - Al-Bulushi, Abdullah
AU - Al-Qasmi, Ahmed
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, Sultan Qaboos University. All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/2
Y1 - 2016/2
N2 - The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of and reasons for patients leaving against medical advice (LAMA) in a paediatric setting in Oman. This retrospective study was carried out between January 2007 and December 2009 and assessed patients who left the paediatric wards at the Royal Hospital, Muscat, Oman, against medical advice. Of 11,482 regular discharges, there were 183 cases of LAMA (prevalence: 1.6%). Dissatisfaction with treatment and a desire to seek a second opinion were collectively the most cited reasons for LAMA according to data from the hospital’s electronic system (27.9%) and telephone conversations with patients’ parents (55.0%). No reasons for LAMA were documented in the hospital’s electronic system for 109 patients (59.6%). The low observed prevalence of LAMA suggests good medical practice at the Royal Hospital. This study indicates the need for thorough documentation of all LAMA cases to ensure the availability of high-quality data for healthcare workers involved in preventing LAMA.
AB - The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of and reasons for patients leaving against medical advice (LAMA) in a paediatric setting in Oman. This retrospective study was carried out between January 2007 and December 2009 and assessed patients who left the paediatric wards at the Royal Hospital, Muscat, Oman, against medical advice. Of 11,482 regular discharges, there were 183 cases of LAMA (prevalence: 1.6%). Dissatisfaction with treatment and a desire to seek a second opinion were collectively the most cited reasons for LAMA according to data from the hospital’s electronic system (27.9%) and telephone conversations with patients’ parents (55.0%). No reasons for LAMA were documented in the hospital’s electronic system for 109 patients (59.6%). The low observed prevalence of LAMA suggests good medical practice at the Royal Hospital. This study indicates the need for thorough documentation of all LAMA cases to ensure the availability of high-quality data for healthcare workers involved in preventing LAMA.
KW - Children
KW - Documentation
KW - Oman
KW - Patient discharge
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84956632954&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84956632954&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.18295/squmj.2016.16.01.013
DO - 10.18295/squmj.2016.16.01.013
M3 - Article
C2 - 26909217
AN - SCOPUS:84956632954
SN - 2075-051X
VL - 16
SP - e74-e77
JO - Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal
JF - Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal
IS - 1
ER -