Elliott Fisher , a professor of medicine at Dartmouth University's influential health costs group, says that the two most expensive decisions a doctor makes are tosend a patient tothehospital and to schedule a new appointment.
In addition, there have been abuses by nursing homes that send patients tothehospital so they can restart the three-day clock and get another round of Medicare payments.
Other private insurers, including Bupa, send patients tothe Heart Hospital, which replaced the National Heart Hospital - the scene of the UK's first heart transplant.