Q&A: Conversion Rates from Observation to Inpatient

Q. What is a benchmark for conversion rates from observation to inpatient status?

A. That’s my favorite question and my favorite answer is it depends. There’s such a variance from one hospital to another. My suggestion would be to look at your current conversion rate and then audit those conversions to determine whether you would, in retrospect, agree that the conversion was appropriate. If you have a high accuracy rate, you might want to get someone from outside your facility to do that audit, just so you have an additional perspective. If you determine that your conversion rate was appropriate and accurate based upon that audit, then you can use your conversion rate as a benchmark and you want to watch it and see is it changing from one month to the other. 

Deborah Hale, CCS, CCDS, president and CEO of Administrative Consultant Service, LLC, in Shawnee, Oklahoma, answered this question.

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