The Problem with Observation Status
By Mathew Keller RN JD, Regulatory and Policy Nursing Specialist
Last fall, my grandmother was admitted to the hospital after a TIA that left her oriented only x1. Or, more correctly, we thought she was admitted. As it turns out, she was in the hospital for several days in an outpatient status, known in Medicare parlance as “observation status.”
Unfortunately, what “observation status” meant for Grandma was that she did not meet the Medicare requirement for a 3-day inpatient stay at the hospital in order to qualify for discharge to a skilled nursing facility. Thus, despite the fact that Grandma was certainly not in any shape to discharge home; and despite the fact that she had entered the hospital from a nursing home, she was not able to go back to the nursing home.
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