Objective: The use of intensive care at the end of life can be high, leading to inappropriate healthcare utilisation, and prolonged suffering for patients and families. The objective of the study was to determine which factors influence physicians' admission decisions in situations of potentially non-beneficial intensive care. Design: This is a secondary analysis of a qualitative study exploring the triage process. In-depth interviews were analysed using an inductive approach to thematic content analysis. Setting: Data were collected in a Swiss tertiary care centre between March and June 2013.