Observation 'services' and observation 'care' - One word can mean a world of difference

摘要

Observation care, observation status, and observation stays have recently become the focus of considerable policy, provider, and patient attention. A key component of this public debate has focused on whether hospitals are shifting costs onto patients by admitting Medicare beneficiaries under "observation status" to avoid readmission penalties or CMS Recovery Audit Contractor claim denials (Baugh and Schuur 2013). Absent from this discussion has been the opportunity to step back and distinguish important nuances amid the confusing terminology and assess the role for hospital observation across the nation.