Results on patient flow of implementing an Acute Medical Unit

There is an increased influx of patients needing admission. Introducing an acute medical unit (AMU) may increase the admission capacity without increasing the total number of beds.

Data collected during the first four years after implementation of an AMU in an academic tertiary care center in Amsterdam were analyzed.

A 24 bed unit was realized. The total number of admissions increased in the first year with 977 (16%), with an additional 4.1% increase after 2 years with stabilization thereafter. The length of stay decreased, the absolute number of refusals declined, the number of readmissions remained unchanged.

Introduction of AMUs in overcrowded services could be beneficial in improving the strain on the acute healthcare systems.