Hospital discharge against medical advice (AMA) is a significant health care problem, affecting approximately 2% of all hospital discharges[1]. Patients who leave the hospital without a doctor's approval face a significantly increased risk of complications – for example, patients with asthma are 4 times more likely to return to the emergency room within 30 days and almost 3 times more likely to be re-hospitalized[1]. In a study of a general medical ward, patients who left AMA were 7 times more likely to be readmitted within 15 days, mostly for the same diagnosis[1]. Patients with myocardial infarction who left the hospital without a referral were found to have a 40% higher risk of death or re-hospitalization within 2 years of discharge[1]. Another problem is poor and slow communication between the hospital and the outpatient physician – a Johns Hopkins study found that 43% of patients were readmitted before their discharge report was completed[2]. Experts recommend that discharge reports be completed within 48 hours and contain only the most important information needed to coordinate care[2].