Peninsula Regional Medical Center will open a Clinical Decision Unit in September to serve patients who require more extensive observation than in the Emergency Department, but who may not require an inpatient stay.
Patients will remain on the Clinical Decision Unit in an outpatient status for an observation period of 20 hours or less, during which they will receive additional evaluation, and diagnostic tests if needed, to determine whether they are well enough to be discharged, or require inpatient admission. This allows patients to quickly receive the most appropriate care.
Congestive heart failure, chest pain, pneumonia and asthma are some of the common conditions that may be addressed in the Clinical Decision Unit. A few examples of patients most likely to benefit are asthma patients who need a few more hours of treatment and observation, or chest pain patients who need a little more labwork and a stress test to see if they are well enough to be discharged.
The unit is located in a pleasant, recently renovated area of Peninsula Regional Medical Center, and will allow patients a much more comfortable atmosphere for their observation stay. Private rooms are available. In addition, guests of the Clinical Decision Unit will benefit from enhanced quality of care and safety and a reduced length of stay.
Many hospitals across the nation are establishing units dedicated to observation. One important reason is to help reduce cost and confusion caused by Medicare’s rules regarding outpatient stays. While most people who go to the emergency room and end up staying in the hospital assume that they’re inpatients, that is not necessarily the case. Medicare uses the “two-midnight rule,” meaning that most patient stays shorter than 48 hours are considered outpatient stays. This affects how the visits are paid for ─ so a quicker, clearer path to either discharge or inpatient admission will help to reduce healthcare costs.
“The opening of our Clinical Decision Unit shows our continued support of providing exceptional care to our community. This unit cares for the patient’s well-being both physically and financially,” said Dr. Alon Davis, Medical Director of the new unit.
