Hospitals and Doctors - Mutual Economic Crises Force Hospitals and Doctors To Lean Upon One Another

In economic crises, no one is an island. According to an AHA study, “Report on the Economic Crisis, Initial Impact on Hospitals,” released in November, doctors are seeking help from hospitals, and hospitals are less able to offer that help.

Here’s is what doctors seek, say hospital CEOs,

• 83% seek more pay for on-call services.
• 69% seek hospital employment.
• 53% seek financial aid.
• 31% seek to sell practices to hospital.
• 23% seek financial aid to purchase equipment.

Meanwhile, hospital CEOs say these developments make helping doctors more difficult,

• Uncompensated care increase 51%
• Admissions decline, 38%
• Bond expense increases, 33%
• Elective procedures decline, 31%
• Pension funds increases, 31%
• Bond issuer forestalled, 11%
• Debt acceleration, 7%

Resulting in these cutbacks,

• Administrative costs, 59%
• Renovation, expansion, 56%
• Staff, 53%
• Clinical technologies, 45%
• IT technologies, 39%
• Hospital services, 27%
• Asset divesture, 12%
• Mergers, 8%

The moral for doctors: Don’t’ expect as much leverage as in the past when negotiating with hospitals, even though you represent their main revenue stream.