“Avoidable bed days are a sign of a broken health care system.” This article draws on an excellent point of the need for more behavioral health beds. Enacting measures such as section 40 will only increase the strain on healthcare systems and therefore further complicate the already challenging nature of discharge plans for these populations. Efforts should rather focus on better options and processes for discharge planning for populations with mental health and behavioral needs that delay or prevent discharge back into the community independently. As an occupational therapist, I hold a role in discharge planning and experience the efforts that hospitals are already enacting to discharge patients once they are medically stable to avoid unnecessary stays. This is not a financial burden that should fall on hospitals. The roots and impact of this issue are beyond healthcare and have implications for social justice and societal wellbeing as well.
In recent years, hospitals have experienced a sharp rise in avoidable bed days. Scripps Health President and CEO Chris Van Gorder recently wrote an opinion piece for The San Diego Union-Tribune highlighting an assembly bill that could significantly worsen the situation if it becomes law. Read the op-ed: https://bit.ly/3L798At
