Intense pressure from the $719 billion Medicare program on the finances of U.S. hospitals promises to worsen in the years ahead. To prevent an already bad situation from getting worse and possibly even threatening their institutions’ viability, leaders of hospitals must take action in five areas: using analytics to identify ways to improve profitability, curbing the costs of corporate services, tightening the purchase and use of medical technology, developing standard clinical protocols for treating conditions, and pushing physicians to adhere to them.
5 Ways U.S. Hospitals Can Handle Financial Losses from Medicare Patients
Health care leaders can prevent a bad situation from getting worse.
November 10, 2017, Updated November 15, 2017
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Summary.
As hospitals face rising costs due to an increase in patients on Medicare, what can industry leaders do to keep their institutions viable? In this piece, the authors describe why this is happening, and what needs to be done to keep the situation from further deteriorating. Specifically, they argue that hospitals must leverage data analytics for greater profitability, curb spending on corporate services, tighten the purchase and use of medical technology, define “blueprint” care protocols, and increase clinical discipline. Rising costs will pose new challenges throughout the health care industry — but by following these simple guidelines, hospitals can ensure that they are set up for long-term success.
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