Patients with comorbidities perceived that acute care services did not fully acknowledge or accommodate the comprehensive care that they required.

METHODS Individual semistructured interviews were done within 14 days of hospital discharge after an acute illness episode. Data collection and analysis were concurrent, and interviews continued until no new major themes emerged. Analysis was done on verbatim transcripts, field notes, and patient medical histories. A template analysis style was used based on Colaizzi’s phenomenological method of theme development. A second, independent data analysis was done to confirm themes. Patients were given a summary of the major findings to verify interpretations.