Observation units may ease burdens of ER care, but benefits to patients come at a price. ... for example, staff might refer him to an observation unit for repeat blood tests, ...

The unit was created to house patients who needed further observation after an emergency, but not necessarily ready for admission to the hospital. Sometimes, doctors simply need more time.

A new observation unit at Carroll Hospital in Westminster, Maryland, designed to treat patients for stays less than 48 hours has reduced its length of stay by more than eight hours and lowered the ...

Ohio State University opened a 19-bed unit last year, and Mount Carmel St. Ann's hospital plans to expand its observation unit dedicated to patients with chest pains.

In some cases, "observation" may be no more than a billing designation that allows hospitals to move patients out of crowded emergency departments.

From January 1, 1998, to January 1, 2000, consecutive patients with cocaine-associated chest pain who were evaluated in a chest-pain observation unit were enrolled in a longitudinal cohort study ...

Two new papers published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology propose that most heart failure (HF) patients who present to the emergency department (ED) don't need to be ...

In some cases, "observation" may be no more than a billing designation that allows hospitals to move patients out of crowded emergency departments. Hospitals also may use them to avoid potential ...