a patient is considered an inpatient to the hospital on admission
Generally a person is considered to be in inpatient status if officially admitted as an inpatient with the expectation that he or she will remain at least overnight. The severity of the patientâs illness and the intensity of services to be provided should justify the need for an acute level of care. An inpatient admission solely because the patient has been kept in observation status over 23 hours would not be considered medically necessary.