Hospital Admissions Decline; Observation Stays & Emergency Department Visits Increase

Trends showing fewer direct hospital admissions, and more treat-and-release observation stays or emergency department (ED) visits, have occurred among adult consumers across all insurance categories. Insurance categories include privately insured individuals aged 18-64 years, Medicare consumers 65 years of age and older; Medicaid consumers aged 18-64. While these changes varied across payers, the changes were small relative to the overall substantial declines in inpatient admissions.

These findings were reported in “The Shifting Landscape in Utilization of Inpatient, Observation, and Emergency Department Services Across Payers,” by Teryl K. Nuckols, M.D., MSHS; Kathryn R. Fingar, Ph.D . . .