Thrown in at the deep end: a qualitative study with physicians on the purpose and challenges of discharge interviews.

Objectives: Against the backdrop of poor discharge communication in hospitals, this study explores the purpose of discharge interviews from the physicians' perspective and the challenges they are confronted with. Discharge interviews are legally required in Germany as part of the discharge management. Led by the ward physician, the discharge interview should summarize relevant information about the hospital stay, medication, lifestyle interventions and follow-up treatment.

Interaction of mental comorbidity and physical multimorbidity predicts length-of-stay in medical inpatients.

Background: Mental comorbidities of physically ill patients lead to higher morbidity, mortality, health-care utilization and costs.

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of mental comorbidity and physical multimorbidity on the length-of-stay in medical inpatients at a maximum-care university hospital.

Design: The study follows a retrospective, quantitative cross-sectional analysis approach to investigate mental comorbidity and physical multimorbidity in internal medicine patients.

An Outpatient Management Strategy Using a Coronataxi Digital Early Warning System Reduces Coronavirus Disease 2019 Mortality.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused sudden, severe strain to healthcare systems. Better outpatient management is required to save lives, manage resources effectively, and prepare for future pandemics.

Methods: The Coronataxi digital early warning (CDEW) system deployed in Rhein-Neckar County and Heidelberg, Germany is an outpatient care system consisting of remote digital monitoring via a mobile application, a medical doctor dashboard, and medical care delivery to COVID-19 patients in home quarantine when indicated.