Zahra Kavosi; Nahid Hatam; Hadi Hayati Abbarik; Mohsen Bayati; Javid Nemati
Volume 9, Issue 4 , September and October 2012, , Pages 448-456
Abstract
Introduction: Patient/customer satisfaction and loyalty have gained increasing attention fromexecutives across the healthcare industry. Discharge against medical advice (DAMA) can beconsidered as one of the indicators of patient dissatisfaction. It has negative effects on patienttreatment and leads to ...
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Introduction: Patient/customer satisfaction and loyalty have gained increasing attention fromexecutives across the healthcare industry. Discharge against medical advice (DAMA) can beconsidered as one of the indicators of patient dissatisfaction. It has negative effects on patienttreatment and leads to increased hospital costs. Study of predictors of DAMA in a teachinghospital was the aim of this research.Methods: In this retrospective, case-control study during the winter if 2009, a total of 9463discharged patient medical records were reviewed. They were selected based on kind of dischargeusing systematic sampling. Data was analyzed using chi-square test and t-test and binaryregression in SPSS.Results: Overall, 9% of discharges in this period were against medical advices. There weresignificant associations between DAMA and health insurance status, hospital wards, and kind ofdisease. Emergency ward patients and patients with no health insurance were more likely to DAMA.Conclusion: High rate of DAMA should be considered by hospital managers. They should try tofind out the causes of DAMA to prevent it and finally improve satisfaction and loyalty of patients.
