I've known about this “observation” problem since it was put in the rules for Medicare. If one goes into the hospital, one MUST have the doctor treating the case to enter the patient as an “admitted in patient”.
Something else to watch about your meds listed by the doctor on your record at his/her office:
I take a very small dose of Amitriptyline for fibromyalgia. That med in large doses was used for depression at the beginning of it coming onto the market. In later years, it was found the med, in a very small dose, stopped excess electricity going to muscles so it is used for fibro and other neurological problems.
One day after I left the doctor's office, I looked at the sheet I was given for that visit. It listed my meds and the reason for taking them - sure enough, it said I was taking Amitriptyline for depression.
When I got home, I wrote a letter to the doctor to change that. The next time I was there, I asked the doctor WHY they put depression on there. His answer was disgusting: “Oh, they just go down the list of uses for a med, and put the first one they see.”
If I had let “depression” stay on there, and Obama doesn't want to let someone taking antidepressants have a weapon - I would have been cooked right there. If that happened, no way would Obama’s “Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives United States Department of Justice” believe me I wasn't taking that for depression.
So, check your doctor's record as to why you are taking each one of your meds.
Again, it is not up to the admitting physician what your status is. It is up to very strict medicare guidelines. Put the blame where it is due.
If the dose of your med was less than the therapeutic dose for depression then you have good reason to fight the depression diagnosis.