Considerations of a Hospitalization Part 2

A meta-analysis of the research into PHS was conducted. The observation of deterioration in mental and physical health status has produced decades of quality data.

Why are some people admitted to the hospital and others sent home? Since the cost for hospitalizations are almost always covered by insurance, there is special criteria that must be met for a person to be admitted to the hospital.

There are also levels of care within the hospital admission - In Patient and Observation (Obs). An Obs patient is typically more stable or doesn’t quite meet admission criteria, but may take a turn for the worse suddenly. These stays are typically billed to Medicare part B, essentially out patient services.

A person typically needs to have a medical condition that is considered serious or life-threatening, requiring monitoring and treatment that cannot be adequately managed at home or in an outpatient setting, as determined by a doctor based on factors like the severity of their illness, necessary medical interventions, and the need for diagnostic procedures or close monitoring. If someone is seen in the Emergency Department, the vital signs, lab test result are reviewed and used as objective data to support the hospitalization.

Some hospitalizations are at the admitting physician’s discretion as he or she uses their judgement to determine the severity of the illness and necessity of treatment.

In 2019 the average length of stay in the hospital was 5.5 days. Length of stay is a top consideration in the risk for post hospitalization syndrome.

Consider health of the person prior to admission If someone meets the illness severity criteria to be admitted, the body has likely been mounting an immune response for days to weeks and is already weakened. A person that is admitted emergently and with multiple medical issues is likely to experience a longer length of stay and increased risk of PHS. The patient experiences further deconditioning during the hospitalization.

Men are more likely to be admitted than women. This often attributed to the delay in treatment and the non-compliance with treatment that is more common in single men. People aged 85+ are admitted at the highest rate. 1 in 4 were admitted to the hospital last year.