Hospitals and the Recession

Everyone has been impacted by the recession, in one way or another. Whether it be job loss, budget cuts, decrease in sales, etc. every industry across the board has been impacted and every consumer has been affected.

According to this article, “Health care is the only private-sector economic activity that has added jobs continuously since the recession began.” Does that mean that healthcare has not been negatively impacted by the recession? Of course not. We are all feeling the pain, in one form or fashion.

Written by Jeff Goldsmith, Hospitals and the Recession was featured in HHN Magazine online on July 6, 2009.

“The reality is that, despite the employment growth, the U.S. health system is in recession. Inpatient hospital admissions and elective surgery, as well as physician office visits and prescriptions filled, are all down by low- to mid-single-digit amounts. Colleagues in health insurance report that 2008-2009 health costs are trending in the 6 percent or 7 percent a year range. Only during the mid- 1990s post-Clinton-reform, managed-care panic have we seen this cost trend lower for a longer period of time.”

“Health care demand actually began softening before last fall’s thunderous financial market collapse. The downturn began in 2007 and may have been a leading indicator of a spreading family-cash-flow crisis….Most hospitals report rising bad debt and charity care, as people lose health insurance coverage along with their jobs. It should concern hospital leaders that the customer is less and less able to afford their product.”

Money is of great concern for consumers, providers, insurers, etc. Consumers are less and less able to afford healthcare. Hospitals’ case volume is down. Hospitals are also going to face challenges in Medicare funding reductions and might have to run their hospitals on “regular gas”. {Be not dismayed…}

“Demand for our services, while softened, has not collapsed. Unlike the real estate and financial services sectors, we have not squandered the confidence of our customers. People in crisis appreciate that we are a vital part of their safety net, and know that we are there for them when they need us. If we can accomplish the urgent task of health reform, we can affirm that promise for all of the people of our country. The hospital industry will enter the next decade chastened by this economic crisis, but stronger for it.” {But, be wise….}

So where does this leave us? We need to do the best with what we’ve got. Hospitals need to maximize their resources. Budgets are getting tight; capital spending budgets, especially. But spending can’t just automatically stop. With healthcare, you’ve got to keep moving forward, especially in the world of technology solutions. So providers must ensure they are spending wisely.

Spend some to get some. Spend money on solutions you know are going to provide cost reductions. When possible, spend on solutions that can provide revenue increase. ComplyMD is a great budget-friendly solution for these tight times. Decreasing your cost of transcription, while building better DRG’s with comprehensive documentation, ComplyMD can save you valuable dollars while helping ensure you’re not ‘leaving money on the table’.