When patients are admitted to the hospital, they are generally expected to remain in or within close proximity to their assigned rooms in order to promote their safety and appropriate medical care. Although there are circumstances when patients may safely leave their hospital room or floor, guidance within the medical literature for the management of patient movement within the hospital are lacking. Excessive restrictions on patient movement may be seen as overly paternalistic, while lax requirements may interfere with high quality care, patient safety and efficient hospital practice. As a result, guidance in the form of institutional policy is warranted. Such policy development should take into consideration the potential clinical, legal, and ethical concerns in balancing the competing values of patients’ preferences and respect for autonomy, while ensuring high quality, safe, and efficacious medical care. This paper will provide a framework for hospitals to create institution-specific patient movement policies that are fair, systematic, and transparent.

中文翻译：

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“医生，我要去散步”：放宽或限制住院患者的活动——伦理、法律和临床考虑

当患者入院时，通常希望他们留在指定的房间内或附近，以促进他们的安全和适当的医疗护理。尽管在某些情况下患者可以安全地离开他们的病房或楼层，但缺乏医学文献中关于管理医院内患者活动的指导。对患者活动的过度限制可能被视为过于家长式，而宽松的要求可能会干扰高质量的护理、患者安全和高效的医院实践。因此，需要以机构政策的形式提供指导。在平衡患者偏好和尊重自主权的竞争价值时，此类政策制定应考虑潜在的临床、法律和伦理问题，同时确保高质量、安全、有效的医疗服务。本文将为医院提供一个框架，以制定公平、系统和透明的机构特定患者流动政策。