masquerade
positivity
- Oct 15, 2009
- 4,508
- 1,465
Quality of care has nothing to do with it. Patients that drain resources because a hospital is forced to keep them because the patient can't be trusted with follow up care just won't survive the hospital stay. It is putting a decision to the hospitals of releasing the patient and risking a fine, keeping a patient in the hospital to occupy a bed or not having the patient at all.
There are many ways of resolving this problem, not one of them good for the patient.
Hospitals are not forced to keep patients because the patient can't be trusted to with their follow-up care. The hospitals are forced to keep patients because some MD's order tests that could be done as an outpatient. Hospitals are forced to keep patients because a SNF or Rehab won't accept them .... or the patient doesn't have any insurance that would cover a SNF or Rehab. Sometimes hospitals are forced to keep patients because family members don't want to take them home and take care of them.