The acute medical unit model: A characterisation based upon the National Health Service in Scotland.

Background: Acute medical units (AMUs) receive the majority of acute medical patients presenting to hospital as an emergency in the United Kingdom (UK) and in other international settings. They have emerged as a result of local service innovation in the context of a limited evidence base. As such, the AMU model is not well characterised in terms of its boundaries, patient populations and components of care.

The effectiveness and variation of acute medical units: a systematic review.

Purpose: To evaluate the evidence for the effectiveness of acute medical units (AMUs) compared with other models of care and compare the components of AMU models.

Data Sources: Six electronic databases and grey literature sources searched between 1990 and 2014.

Study Selection: Studies reporting on AMUs as an intervention for unplanned medical presentations to hospital with the inclusion of all outcome measures/study designs/comparators.