Observation Status vs. Inpatient Status?

With the growth of value-based purchasing contracts and other public and private efforts to lower healthcare expenditures, many hospitals have experienced payer-based pressure to manage short-stay or low-complexity admitted patients under an “observation” outpatient designation rather than an “admitted” inpatient designation.

To assess recent trends in use of observation and inpatient designations, study investigators compared hospital admission status in patients who received 10 common diagnoses in four U.S. states in 2009 or in 2013. Among patients in all insurance categories (Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, or no insurance), observation care increased significantly and inpatient admissions decreased significantly between 2009 and 2…