Budgeting
Budgets continue to be impacted by the increased use of high-cost drugs and critical care drugs for coronavirus patients.
Some organizations use up to four vendors, each of whom handles different components of the revenue cycle process.
The numbers speak to the struggles the healthcare industry faces as it remains in the midst of the battle against the coronavirus.
The AHA data doesn’t yet include figures from the COVID-19 pandemic that consumed much of 2020.
Getting paid has become imperative during a time when both hospitals and patients may be cash-strapped.
The numbers don't necessarily reflect worse performance among system-affiliated groups, but rather a different mix of expenses and services.
Inpatient length of stay went up 8.7% year-over-year but ER visits fell 15.5% and operating room minutes declined 12.2%.
Patient volumes, adjusted admissions and federal funding contribute to the outlook, although outside factors could change this.
Health spending increased at a slightly faster rate than gross domestic product, but the report analyzed figures prior to the pandemic.
The system’s digital transformation achieved Stage 7 designation from the HIMSS Analytics Adoption Model for Analytics Maturity.