Many acute medical conditions can be treated without admitting patients to the hospital, with no increased risk and, in some cases, higher patient satisfaction, according to an article on the KFGO website.
Researchers looked at studies on four alternatives to hospital admission for situations like chest pain, heart failure or cancer diagnosis and treatment.
For conditions like pulmonary embolism and community-acquired pneumonia, the mortality risk was the same for inpatient and outpatient management.
There was low mortality and high patient satisfaction for quick diagnostic units, and one study found costs were $2,000 to $3,000 lower per patient compared to inpatient care.
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