WBUR ON-AIR INTERVIEW: MAKING GREATER USE OF DEDICATED HOSPITAL OBSERVATION UNITS FOR MANY SHORT-STAY PATIENTS COULD SAVE $3.1 BILLION A YEAR

Using observation units in hospitals to provide care to certain patients can be more efficient than admitting them to the hospital and can result in shorter lengths-of-stay and lower costs. However, such units are present in only about one-third of US hospitals. We estimated national cost savings that would result from increasing the prevalence and use of observation units for patients whose stay there would be shorter than twenty-four hours.

Source: WBUR, October, 2012.