title: Economic issues in observation unit medicine.
abstract: Emergency department observation units are the rational choice for improving the utilization of health care resources and at the same time improving the quality of patient care. Potential pitfalls can be avoided by flexibility on both the part of the observation unit and the hospital administration staff. The continued growth of observation medicine throughout the country is evidence that most have been successful in designing creative solutions to accommodate this new health service.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Cook County Hospital, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: L G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Graff
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000191:economics*; D005260:Female; D017721:Hospital Costs; D006757:Hospital Units; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019370:Observation / Q000379:methods*; D014481:United States