Acute Care

Question 0

ALOS

Answer 0

Average Length of Stay

Question 1

AHA

Answer 1

American Hospital Association (not-for-profit advocacy)

Question 2

CMS

Answer 2

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Question 3

DHHS

Answer 3

Department of Health and Human Services

Question 4

EMTALA

Answer 4

Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act

Question 5

FAH

Answer 5

Federation of American Hospitals (for-profit advocacy)

Question 6

HIPAA

Answer 6

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

Question 7

NICU

Answer 7

Newborn Intensive Care Unit

Question 8

PACU

Answer 8

Post Anesthetic Care Unit

Question 9

PPACA

Answer 9

Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act

Question 10

PPS

Answer 10

Prospective Payment System

Question 11

SWB

Answer 11

Salaries, wages, benefits

Question 12

What is triage?

Answer 12

Triage is the process of separating cases/patients, based on acuity, into primary, secondary and tertiary care.

Question 13

How many total hospitals are there in the US?

Answer 13

5,723 total registered hospitals

4,999 Community hospitals (i.e. acute care)

Question 14

Percentage wise, how many not-for-profit hospitals are there in comparison to for-profit hospitals?

Answer 14

2/3 = not-for-profit (2,894)
1/3 = for-profit (1,068)

Question 15

What are the 4 levels of medical care?

Answer 15

Primary = diagnosing and planning for treatment (physicians office, ER)
low acuity

Secondary = Anything for which you are admitted into a hospital. Admitted surgery with a medium acuity.

Tertiary = Level of care that requires at least one-on-one nursing. Generally takes place in an ICU. High acuity.

Quaternary = Experimental procedures and research not yet approved by FDA. Must be approved by IRB. Considered a kind of off-shoot of tertiary care

Question 16

What are the 6 basic ADLs?

Answer 16

Eating
Bathing
Dressing
Toileting
Ambulance (walking)
Continence

Question 17

What’s the spiel on Critical Access Hospitals

Answer 17

They are rural hospitals with a 25 bed limit (though swing beds are allowed). They cannot be closer than 35 miles from a full service hospital. They get reimbursed on a “cost +” basis (generally a cost + 1%).

Question 18

What is acute care?

Answer 18

Acute care is medical care for injury or illness (inpatient. Meant to be temporary).

Question 19

What is a Disproportionate Share Hospital?

Answer 19

It is a hospital that treats a higher-than-average percentage of low-income patients. They are reimbursed by CMS on a DRG + DSH payment basis.

Question 20

IRB

Answer 20

Institutional Review Board