PowerHealth News & Events

A sizable percentage of hospitals expect to reduce their spending on capital projects during 2012 as they confront a variety of budget issues, according to a new survey of 730 hospitals from Premier healthcare alliance.

Premier’s 2012 Economic Outlook indicated that 35 percent of healthcare leaders said their capital budgets declined over the past year–a tougher climate than the 2011 survey, when 28 percent reported a drop, reported DOTmed News.

However, 65 percent of those surveyed believed their budgets remained about the same or have increased compared with 2011. Premier noted that 72 percent of those surveyed last spring reported flat or increased capital budgets.

The survey also found that 76 percent of the healthcare leaders said future reimbursement cuts were dictating most capital budget decisions.

Next year, most of the capital investments will go to information technology and telecommunications, according to more than 40 percent of respondents; 30 percent said the majority would go toward infrastructure.

“The nation’s current debt concerns and looming reductions in reimbursement have, for the most part, slowed hospital spending and increased demand for greater value,” Premier Chief Operating Officer Mike Alkire said in a statement yesterday. “The one exception is HIT, where hospitals are placing a great deal of fiscal and operational focus.”

Premier’s survey also indicated that hospitals are trying to cut costs by standardizing more care.

To learn more:

• read the Premier 2012 Economic Outlook (.pdf)
• read the DOTmed News article
• here’s the Premier statement

PowerHealth OnDemand is a revolutionary online performance management and analytics service for healthcare providers that enables immediate access and answers to critical data and information – without software, hardware, IT, or capital required!

PowerHealth OnDemand for MEDITECH is the one source for organizations preparing for the future of Healthcare Reform and performance management best practices. Our solutions are modular and based upon your needs related to:

• Financial Performance
• Cost Accounting
• Revenue Cycle Performance
• Clinical Operations Performance
• Quality Performance
• Physician Performance Management
• Supply Chain Performance
• Meaningful Use and ARRA

Find out today how PowerHealth OnDemand enables executives and decision-makers turn disparate data sources into real-time answers.

Call us at 303-868-4361 or email us at marketing@powerhealthondemand.com

Accurately measuring costs and outcomes is the single most powerful lever we have today for transforming the economics of health care!

From the Harvard Business Review:

Other countries spend less of their GDP on health care but have the same increasing trend. Explanations are not hard to find. The aging of populations and the development of new treatments are behind some of the increase. Perverse incentives also contribute: Thirdparty payors (insurance companies and governments) reimburse for procedures performed rather than outcomes achieved, and patients bear little responsibility for the cost of the health care services they demand.