title: Against medical advice: Part I, A review of the literature.
abstract: As a preliminary step to studying the Army's experience with against medical advice (AMA) discharges, the literature was reviewed. Fifty-one articles were found through a computer program search. These articles reported widely varying rates depending upon the type of patient, primary diagnosis, and type of setting. Patients with drug and/or alcohol abuse problems are at significantly higher risk for AMA. No civilian studies have been identified which evaluate long-term trends.
authors.affiliation: Army National Guard, Alexandria, VA 22302-1454.
authors.forename: E K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Jeffer
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D010351:Patient Discharge; D010352:Patient Dropouts; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016312:Treatment Refusal; D014481:United States