In-combat healing has pretty much been a staple at every gaming table I've been at, though more limited in 1E because of fewer spells for clerics and generally lower level overall. But, 1E and 2E D&D were very easy to stabilize a fallen comrade-in-arms. If they fell, you only had to reach them to stabilize them. I forgot the exact terminology we used, but it was essentially referred to as putting pressure to stop the bleeding.
In 3.5E, you had the 2nd level spell "Close Wounds" which was an immediate action, interrupting damage as if it didn't happen. You also had "Revivify" which stabilized a fallen comrade at -1 if you reached them within one round of them dying. (my group used that one just about every session) And, 4E was loaded with those interrupts that made damage disappear. But, both editions made it harder to stabilize a fallen companion - needing a spell, or a Heal check.
I don't think tracking negative hit points was a big deal, but I'm not broken up by it going away, either.