Where Do Economies Of Scale Exist In US Hospitals?

NOTE: Click on image to enlarge.

Assessment

The unrelenting pressure on hospitals to control costs will increase over the next few years as institutions look to be profitable at Medicare reimbursement levels.  One area that hospitals often look at to find cost savings is in economies of scale.  There are three main ways of approaching this: by growing a facility’s overall volume, specializing in particular service lines, or integrating with other health systems.

In this infographic, we see that growing overall facility volume doesn’t result in economies of scale.  But, one sees a different story when we look at a more micro level (service line specialization) and a more macro level (increased system size).

Conclusion

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4 Responses

  1. Capital Spending in the Current Healthcare Environment

    The downturn of the U.S. economy has had a significant impact on the healthcare industry, with many hospitals and healthcare systems continuing to struggle in its wake.

    Click to access cap.pdf

    Persisting negative effects of the recession have led to uncertain long-term projections on capital spending within healthcare, although, recent data suggests that healthcare leaders are confident they will be able to secure funding for future projects.

    Source: Robert James Cimasi MHA AVA CMP™
    Health Capital Consultants, LLC
    via Ann Miller RN MHA

    Like

  2. Hospitals lose millions from cancelled surgeries

    Patient no-shows and cancellations on the day of surgery are costing hospitals millions of dollars each year, Anesthesiology News just reported.

    http://www.anesthesiologynews.com/ViewArticle.aspx?d=Policy%2B%26%2BManagement&d_id=3&i=May+2012&i_id=839&a_id=20765

    Any thoughts – guru consultants?

    Adam

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  3. Adam,

    I suspect a good deal of these cancellations are due to “surgeries” that may not be necessary; cosmetic, elective, second opinions, risk reduction procedures, screenings, prior false [+]s and [-]s, and “wallectomies”, etc. Fewer post-op and HAI infections, too.

    So, the money is not really lost – the patients just got better informed. Good for them – bad for the hospital.

    In fact, the Avoidable Care Conference foments this “revolutionary” idea, don’t you think?

    http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/avoidable-care-conference-foments-revolution?topic=05,29,19

    Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA

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  4. Reducing unwarranted services

    Dr. Marcinko – In this essay, Roger Foster looks at how government and private health agencies can harness big data to the betterment of public health.

    Furthermore, he delves into ways that data analytics can both enhance patient care and cut costs.

    http://www.govhealthit.com/news/big-data-and-public-health-part-2-reducing-un-warranted-services?topic=08,12,30,31,34

    Adam

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