Hospital observation services rose 19 percent in northeast Ohio in the third quarter of 2013, according to a Key Indicators Report from The Center for Health Affairs, collective organization of northeast Ohio hospitals.
Observation status has recently come into the public eye for triggering Medicare Part B copayments that may be surprising to patients who are unaware they are under observation rather than being inpatients.
The increase comes as another in a decade-long trend; the CHA's members have seen a 36 percent increase in observation status over the last 10 years, according to a news release.