July 02, 2019 / ALEX KACIK  Although inpatient admissions have ticked up over the last few months, they remain on a long-term downward trend, which has dented U.S. hospitals’ profitability. Adjusted patient days were up 3.6% in May compared with the prior-year period, which helped boost operating margins 9.2% along with ongoing cost-cutting efforts, according to …