Early senior decision-making in acute medicine: a critical review of health policy and implications for practice

Nicola Irvine*, Robert Van Der Meer, Itamar Megiddo

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

UK urgent care health policies advocate senior clinical decision-making at the point of referral into the system. The costs of employing senior clinicians in this role are substantial with little evidence of the value they bring over other strategies, particularly for patient outcomes. We sought to explore current remote and ambulatory emergency care decision-making in acute medical care in a large central healthcare system – NHS Scotland. We found that many sites use remote decision-making for some allocation decisions. However, involvement of clinical expertise varies, and available decision-aids are few. There is also variation in access to resources that facilitate non-admission. Research into the value that senior clinicians bring to this task over other strategies is required.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)126-130
Number of pages5
JournalAcute Medicine
Volume21
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 27 Nov 2022
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • AEC
  • Health Policy
  • SDEC
  • Urgent Care
  • Value-based care

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine

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