Nonmilitary patients who leave the hospital without authorization are?

• A. Administratively discharged from the hospital
• B. Considered AWOL
• C. Reported to the sponsor's commander
• D. Considered to be on 'pass' until they return to the ward

Answer: (A)

The situation describes an administrative action taken by the hospital when a patient leaves without authorization. Administrative discharge is used to close out the patient’s hospital stay for record-keeping and service purposes when the departure isn’t a medically approved discharge. It signals that the patient left against guidance or without proper authorization, and the hospital marks the case accordingly in the chart.

AWOL is a military term for service members who are absent without permission, which doesn’t apply to nonmilitary patients. Reporting to a sponsor’s commander isn’t relevant here because civilian patients don’t have a sponsor or a military chain of command. A “pass” implies a planned, supervised or permitted leave, not an unauthorized departure, so that option wouldn’t fit in a civilian hospital context.

So, the best description for a nonmilitary patient who leaves the hospital without authorization is administratively discharged.