Acute Admission to Hallingdal Sjukestugu

The research project's objective is to analyze whether acute admissions to Hallingdal sjukestugu (HSS) is a real alternative to hospitalization in a general hospital.

HSS is a community hospital and a department under Ringerike General Hospital (RS) and is located in Hallingdal 170 km from the RS. It is an established practice that the general practitioners in Hallingdal send selected patients in need for acute treatment to HSS in place of RS. In 2008 this accounted for 10.1% of the total number of acute inpatients from the six municipalities of Hallingdal.

The research program includes a prospective, randomized study in which all patients intended for acute inpatient at HSS are distributed randomly into two groups, an intervention group who is admitted to HSS, and a control group who is sent to RS. A minimum of 70 patients are included in each group.

The patients are going to be followed through one year after the hospital stay and all contacts with the specialist health services and the municipal health care services will be registered. There will also be collected data on the patients' functioning level and the patients' opinion about quality of the hospital stay. Through standardized questionnaire the involved health professional will be asked about their reviews.

Three studies will analyze the patients' progress, economics and quality in the two groups. The three studies will together constitute a doctoral thesis.

The research project will provide a better basis for assessing the role of local medical centers in the Norwegian health care in the acute treatment of a defined group of patients.

Inclusion criteria

• Patients who by the general practitioner are intended for acute admission to HSS and where the specialist on call at RS approves such admissions.
• Patients residing in Hallingdal municipalities.

Exclusion criteria

• Patients with injuries and acute and/or unclear illnesses in need of diagnosis, treatment or monitoring in an acute hospital.
• Urgent births at HSS.
• Acute psychiatric admissions to hospital.
• Patients with serious mental disorders.
• Patients who during the follow-up year move to a municipality outside of Hallingdal.