The hospital from my perspective is struggling to provide good care and I feel the care has become substandard . I have had patients recently who are very unhappy when they are told they are an observation patient and perhaps some of their stay will not be covered. Case Managers now have to inform the patients
But they do not seem to be able to tell the pt what would not be covered or exactly if anything they will be billed for . If a pt required rehab they are told they will have to come up with money to get into a rehab.
This can be in the thousands of dollars and obviously people get upset. I had a 93 year
Old pt recently admitted with the flu who was on oxygen and Iv fluids with wheezing and weakness , shortness of breathe and was told she didn’t meet criteria for in pt and was being discharged to home. The pt had just been out of bed for the first time and we were just starting to wean off o2
I found the the pt in near tears in a panic trying to make a phone call to a friend because the md had told her she was being discharged
Pt said he didn’t even listen to me. Case manager had to get involved and pt finally was allowed to stay over night but still as observation. People who come in for procedures or even mi pts who require angioplasty are observation so if they don’t get discharged quickly there is a chance some of ther their stay will not be covered . In my opinion this puts way too much emphasis on getting the pt out even when it is clearly unsafe. This is an issue that obviously goes beyond the hospital
But the way they are implementing it now seems cruel and I know patients are getting very upset and disgusted with the hospital because of it.
