Assessing the need to hospitalize children: pediatric appropriateness evaluation protocol.

Rapidly increasing hospital costs have necessitated use review of hospitalized patients to improve the appropriateness (medical necessity) of hospital use. The development and testing of the Pediatric Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol, an objective, criteria-based instrument intended to assist physicians and use reviewers in making decisions regarding appropriateness of pediatric hospital admissions and days of care, are described.