Against medical advice.
Patients who leave the hospital against medical advice (AMA) present a challenge and concern to health care providers. Patients may leave AMA for a variety of reasons. Nurses play a vital role in patients considering an AMA discharge. Most of all, nurses can help by not perpetuating the concepts that AMA means you leave with nothing. Nurses must ensure that patients leave with information about their injuries, possible issues of concern after discharge, medications or prescriptions for medications, and follow-up information, and always stress to patients that at any time they may return to the hospital for additional care.
Trauma Nurse Practitioner, Christiana Care Health System, Newark, DE.
Marilynn Kyritsis
MK
Bartley
D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D016529:Emergency Nursing / Q000379:methods; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010351:Patient Discharge; D010359:Patient Readmission; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016312:Treatment Refusal; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D055815:Young Adult