title: Reducing the risk of hospital admission: a call to action from the Italian Society of Internal Medicine.
abstract: The belief that hospital stays may constitute per se a risk for patients is not widespread among patients and health care professionals. In the balance between advantages and disadvantages of admission, we rarely take into account the impact of the hospital stay itself on the well-being of the patient. In a society that is getting older the hospital may become a hostile environment for the complex and frail patient. Reducing the risks associated with hospital admission implies a radical cultural change accepted and shared by all health care professionals. The critical reconsideration of admission is a way of reasoning not only on hospitalisation but also on what the correct health outcome paradigms should be.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency, Ospedale Civile di Udine, Udine, Italy.
authors.forename: Rodolfo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sbrojavacca
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Modena, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonello
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pietrangelo
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Ospedale Civile di Cuneo, Cuneo, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fenoglio
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University "Sapienza", Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Violi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University "Magna Graecia", Catanzaro, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Perticone
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy. Electronic address: gr.corazza@smatteo.pv.it.
authors.forename: Gino Roberto
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Corazza
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003428:Cross Infection; D016330:Frail Elderly / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine; D007558:Italy; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000639:trends*; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000592:standards*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012955:Societies, Medical
keywords: Frail patient; Hospital admission; Iatrogenic damages; Stressors