The COVID-19 pandemic

[jeffster]

To be fair, the number of overnight stays in hospital is far lower now-ish (COVID excepted) than it was 20 years ago; a lot of procedures used to be overnight stays and are now day procedures. Which is generally better when it works, not just for financial reasons. So comparing raw numbers isn't super accurate.

There is truth to that, sometimes referred to as efficiency. Example, surgery is no longer considered a condition, nor is pregnancy. Bloodless surgery is more common now, which also reduces the amount of required time that a patient must stay in the hospital.

Even overnight stays 'in the covid era' are less than before (2019 had more overnight stays than 2020).