Context: Day Surgery patients are classified as the "Day Surgery" class (i.e., outpatient not inpatient), and should only be admitted to hospital as inpatients when their clinical status changes to the point of requiring additional acute nursing care for an extended period of time.
If a Day Surgery patient requires recovery on an inpatient unit, the Recovery Nurse should submit the Bed Request to ensure the patient keeps the Day Surgery patient class, and an "Admit to Inpatient" order should not be entered. If a Day Surgery patient is incorrectly admitted as an inpatient, the surgeon will be required to complete a full History and Physical; medication reconciliation requirements associated with an inpatient admission will also need to be completed; additional discharge documentation and workflows will be triggered and required (e.g., discharge summary); and patient billing, reporting, and data integrity will be negatively impacted.
Answer: Day Surgery patients are considered outpatients and, even if requiring additional recovery time, the patient class should remain as Day Surgery. If incorrectly admitted as an inpatient, additional admission and discharge workflows will be triggered and required for prescribers.
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