One would first think that incentives to reduce hospital stays might have a negative impact on patient care. This is often not the case. For example, the heart attack patient who now is discharged from the hospital after just four days is put in a cardiac rehabilitation program. Generally, for most conditions, prolonged bed rest is detrimental for patients. In fact, hospitals are often not safe places for patients.
Patients are at risk for developing infections or having bad reactions to medications.
You and your doctor should work together to maintain your health and prevent problems, ideally to keep you out of the hospital. If you need to be hospitalized, it's your doctor's responsibility to help you recover optimally so you can get out as quickly as possible. Patients do better in their own homes than anywhere else. The development of excellent home health care programs has allowed for much more medical care to be delivered in the patient's own home. This often works out as the best way to be treated for a medical condition.