Are Hospitals Becoming Obsolete; Consequences for Pathology and the Labs

I have blogged in the past about how the mission and nature of hospitals in the U.S. is changing rapidly (see, for example:The Design of Bedless Hospitals Continue to Evolve Based on Cost and Technology; Some Additional Ideas About the Bedless Hospitals of the Future; The Case of the"Disappearing Hospital Beds"; Implications for Pathologists). This same idea was covered in a somewhat controversial recent article by Ezekiel Emanuel with the provocative headline that asked whether hospitals were becoming obsolete (see:Are Hospitals Becoming Obsolete?). Below is an excerpt from it:What year saw the maximum number of hospitalizations in the United States? The answer is 1981....That year, there were over 39 million hospitalizations — 171 admissions per 1,000 Americans. Thirty-five years later, the population has increased by 40 percent, but hospitalizations have decreased by more than 10 percent. There is now a lower rate of hospitalizations than in 1946. As a result, the number of hospitals has declined to 5,534 this year from 6,933 in 1981.....The number of hospitals is also declining because more complex care can safely and effectively be provided elsewhere, and that ’s good news.....Studies have shown that patients with heart failure, pneumonia and some serious infections can be given intravenous antibiotics and other hospital-level treatments at home by visiting nurses. These “hospital at home” programs usually lead to more rapid recoveries...
Source: Lab Soft News - Category: Laboratory Medicine Authors: Tags: Cost of Healthcare Healthcare Delivery Healthcare Innovations Hospital Financial Reference Laboratories Source Type: blogs