Improving Observation Status in a Hospital (Hospitals‪)‬

Observation admission to a hospital is a status to evaluate and treat a patient's medical condition to determine whether there is a need for an inpatient stay. It is generally reserved for those patients whose medical problems do not meet inpatient criteria as defined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. This evaluation is usually done in a period of 24 hours (sometimes 48 hours) so that a diagnosis can be made or the patient can be triaged appropriately. (1) Our health care system has a growing number of patients who are relying on Medicare and Medicaid for their insurance. It is because of this that strict adherence to Medicare criteria be heeded so that the hospital can be properly reimbursed. This might not be a problem, except that observation patients are often in the hospital longer than 24 hours and frequently longer than 48 hours.