title: The quality of patient experience of short-stay acute medical admissions: findings of the Adult Inpatient Survey in England.
abstract: Introduction of the specialty of acute medicine and of acute medical units (AMUs) in the UK have been associated with improvements in mortality, length of stay and flow, but there is no literature on the patient experience during the early phase of acute medical admissions. We analysed the Adult Inpatient Survey (AIPS) findings for short-stay unscheduled medical admissions who did not move from their first admission ward (n=3325) and therefore are likely to have been managed entirely in the AMU. We compared these with short-stay emergencies in other specialties (n=3420) and short-stay scheduled admissions (n=10,347). Scheduled admissions reported a better experience for all survey items. Scores for unscheduled admissions were worse in medical patients compared with other specialties for pain control, privacy, involvement, information, and for a number of questions relating to information on discharge. The specialty of acute medicine should work to improve future patient experience.
authors.affiliation: Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) Northwest London and Centre for Healthcare Improvement Research, Imperial College, London, UK.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.forename: Mary L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: Derek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bell
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000592:standards*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D058996:Quality Improvement; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Acute medicine; acute medical unit; patient experience; quality improvement