Dtsch Arztebl Int
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In medicine, a wide gap exists between the medical care that ought to be possible in the light of the current state of medical research and the care that is actually provided. Behavioral biases and noise are two major reasons for this. ⋯ Despite their apparent potential, the application of behavioral economic interventions to improve medical decisionmaking is still in its infancy, particularly in Germany.
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Inpatient admission rates and the resources required upon admission to the hospital were studied as a function of the type of referral to the emergency department (ED) of a university hospital. ⋯ Whether a patient is admitted to the hospital depends on the source of the referral and the leading symptom on arrival in the ED. One in every six self-referred patients is admitted to the hospital, particularly when the reason for presenting to the ER is non-traumatic and some of them go on to receive intensive care. The high percentage (around 95%) of self-referred trauma patients that are discharged from the ED presumably indicates that they were referred mainly for the exclusion of dangerous conditions, and/or that appropriate care options are lacking in the community setting.