We always categorized patients as inpatient or observation, but on Oct 1 they really tightened up the rules.Now, in a lot of cases- you have to be in the hospital for 2 midnights before you can be considered inpatient. it was a Medicare rule, but I suspect the ACA has something to do with it. When you have more patients under observation, they have to pay more and possibly default on their bills. The hospitals will have a harder time getting paid because the patients don’t have money. This is going to be a huge issue as more and more people find out about this. Chest pain without evidence of a MI is observation.
What a mess. From the hospital’s point of view, you don’t want to throw them on inpatient status because of readmits. But you know you could be bankrupting your facility if you keep them on observe. A hospital job used to be the safest bet there was, but I can imagine the pressure inside of them to do more with less now. Everywhere in healthcare is the same right now. Best wishes for your sanity.