Becker's Healthcare November 26, 2024
Fewer hospitals are admitting pediatric patients than before the pandemic, according to a study published Nov. 22 in JAMA Network Open.
Many small and medium-sized hospitals have ended pediatric services in recent years amid hospital consolidation, declining Medicaid reimbursements and decreasing pediatric admission volumes. During the pandemic, some hospitals also repurposed their pediatric units to expand adult inpatient capacity.
For the study, researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital analyzed 2019 and 2021 data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project’s National Inpatient Sample Databases to understand how pediatric admissions changed after the pandemic.
“Our observations suggest that this dynamic accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an additional loss of one-sixth of the nation’s remaining pediatric inpatient services,” the researchers said.
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