Why do physicians in neonatal care units differ in their admission thresholds?

In view of the substantial variation in admission rates to neonatal care units observed in the East Anglian Health Region of England, this study attempts to assess which factors might account for these variations in admission patterns. A variety of factors including personal characteristics, professional attitudes, organisational and clinical need were hypothesised to influence styles of admission behaviour. Correlational analysis indicated that organisational factors like size of hospital, teaching status and availability of cots were particularly strongly related to admission rates, but that the physician's characteristics and attitudes also played some influence on the physician's behaviour. Indicators of clinical need were not strongly correlated with admission rates.