AHA study: Hospital outpatient settings treat sicker patients than physician offices

Medicare patients treated in hospital outpatient departments are more likely to reside in geographically isolated and medically underserved communities and be sicker and more complex to treat than those treated in independent physician offices, an American Hospital Association study found. The study found Medicare patients who are seen in hospital outpatient departments, including those with cancer, are more likely to be from rural and lower-income areas, living with more severe chronic conditions, dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, previously hospitalized or cared for in a hospital emergency department. AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack noted Medicare payments “appropriately recognize differences” between care provided in hospital outpatient departments and other settings. (AHA News article, 9/3/25)