Leaving the Hospital against Medical Advice Associated with Increased Mortality, Study Finds

Discharge against medical advice is associated with increased risk for mortality and readmission, concludes a study published online April 17, 2012, in the American Journal of Medicine. The study, which examined 148,810 discharges from an urban, academic health system between July 1, 2002, and June 30, 2008, found that 1.3% of patients who left before advised died within 30 days compared with 0.7% of patients who stayed until a planned discharge.