Can hospital refuse to admit patient? Yes, a hospital can refuse to admit a patient under different conditions and circumstances.
However, in this article on can hospital refuse to admit patient, some of the reasons why a patient cannot be admitted are listed and explained. A physician is in charge to say if a patient needs to be admitted to not.
In most African nations, there is usually an affinity by the health care provider to get their patients admitted which will equally attract more pay and also close patient monitoring encouraged.
Can hospital refuse to admit patient?
Although, there is also an increase in not admitting patients by some of the hospitals not considering the additional pay attached to it. That’s why one can point at anything to be the reason for patients’ admission refusal by some hospitals.
A hospital does not have unlimited discretion to refuse to admit a patient considering ethics in the medical practice, regulations, and other pronounced conduct.
On no condition will a patient be rejected for admission because of ethnicity, religion, or sex unless it is in the interest of the patient.
A hospital can refuse to admit a patient if the reasons for refusal are worthwhile. There are many instances where a hospital can refuse a patient admission on its own discrepancy.
The hospital can be an uneasy place for many and most times can be frightening. Often, treatments occur without proper explanation thus the uneasiness. Knowing what to expect can help people cope and respond properly to treatment.
Understanding more about what hospitals do and why they do it can help people feel less uneasy about their hospital experience, more in control, and more confident about their health when at home.
Mind you, there is a great difference between an inpatient and an outpatient. A patient who undergoes a hospital’s admission process to receive treatment provided over a period of time and can occur in a hospital or in the person’s home (for hospital-in-the-home patients), this patient is regarded as an inpatient, and hospital admission is for cases that need close monitoring by physicians and nurses.
Why do patients get admitted?
Below are some of the reasons why a patient can be admitted to a hospital;
- Severity of case
- Disease type
- Proper treatment
- Prevention of spread
Severity of case
A patient can be severely ill without noticing it. After diagnoses and the cause and severity of an illness are detected, the physician will make a recommendation for the patient to be admitted. in the case of hypertensive crisis, for instance, a patient will be recommended for admission.
Disease type
This is another factor of admission in the hospital, a disease type and mode of occurrence may lead to the hospital admission. It is a type of illness that symptoms come with time or in the case of episodic illnesses, a physician might want to witness the episode before driving at the conclusion or to know the type of medical test to run.
Proper treatment
Amongst the reasons for hospital admission, proper treatment is inclusive. most medical and health conditions require the close monitoring of the patient and also hospital admission may be a way of giving a patient proper rest from stress.
However, this is usually at the doctor’s discretion.
Prevention of spread
An infectious illness that needs quarantine might be detected during a patient’s visit to t the hospital. in such an instance, the patient will be isolated in a designated hospital building for such.
Can the hospital refuse to admit a patient?
Yes, a hospital can refuse to admit a patient for different reasons, however, the reason must be of ethical consideration and acceptance.
Below are some of the reasons on can hospital refuse to admit patients;
- Unavailability of hospital bed
- Lack of experience
- The severity of the case
- Fear of contracting an unknown infection
- Safety
- Inability to pay for medical bills
Unavailability of bed
An answer to this question of can hospital refuse to admit patient, is the unavailability of hospital beds. Among the rating factors of a hospital is the number of beds is considered therefore, bed number in a hospital is a great prerequisite for effective hospital operation.
For instance, the second wave of the coronavirus in India caused many hospitals to be over flooded thereby causing the hospitals to refuse the admission of patients.
Lack of experience
The facility does not have the appropriate medical staff or equipment to treat the illness or injury. This will prompt the hospital to refer the patient to a well-equipped and experienced health institution.
The severity of the case
The severity of a case can cause a hospital to refuse to admit a patient. The is also an acceptable reason when the said hospital cannot handle the particular case.
Fear of contracting an unknown infection
Because of the fear of contracting an unknown infection, a physician may recommend a patient to a safer and better place for treatment.
Safety
Because of safety, hospitals can refuse the admission of a patient in such case of a bullet wound unless there is an appropriate authorization as what led to the incident.
Inability to pay for medical bills
This is a great factor in the question of can hospital refuse to admit patient. Like other businesses, hospitals operate based on business decisions. In a case where there is the certainty that the medical bill will not be paid, the physician in charge will decide if there should be an admission or not.
Conclusion
Can a hospital refuse to admit a patient? Yes, from the above we are certain that conditions can lead to refusal of admission into the hospital however, any hospital refusal should be based on ethical considerations.
If out of laziness or greed a patient is refused admission, as a result of that, the patient’s case worsens or death occurs the health care providers are liable to answer for such refusal.
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