Premature discharges: a comparative study.

One hundred and ninety-eight AMA and 81 AWOL discharged patients were compared with a control group of 256 inpatients. Each group had sociodemographic and clinical characteristics which were predictors of their hospitalization outcome and both AMA/AWOL discharges were at high risk of readmission in the short and long-term following their discharge. These patients occupy a significant amount of hospital resources and have an adverse effect on ward milieu. Their management raises moral, ethical and medicolegal concerns. The data offers a Canadian perspective to the literature and discusses reasons for possible differences between AMA and AWOL discharges. Some remedial measures for the caring of these "revolving door patients" are suggested.