If a patient is stable enough that the taking of regular vital signs is nothing but a nuisance, maybe it's time for the patient to leave the acute care hospital

If a patient is stable enough that the taking of regular vital signs is nothing but a nuisance, maybe it's time for the patient to leave the acute care hospital and go home or to a rehabilitation facility. Nobody wants patients who don't need acute care services in acute care hospitals. Maybe DNR / palliative-care patients should get a break on the four-hour vital sign gathering. But people start yelling "death panels" when this sort of thing comes up in hospital policy.