In his most recent column, my colleague Philip Betbeze peers into the future and catches a glimpse of the healthcare system circa a decade from now. He says it "doesn't look good for independent standalone community hospitals, unless your hospital happens to be of the critical access variety."
But, all is not lost, Philip writes, in about 3 Actions That Could Save Community Hospitals. This line in particular caught my eye: "The growth is not in inpatient. If you don't have strong outpatient facilities, you don't have much hope."
When I read that, I dove into the HealthLeaders archives to see what I could find on outpatient care as a source of revenue. Here's what I found, neatly compiled into a list of resources for building up outpatient business:
1. Outpatient Care: Strategic Growth Lives Here
This article from HealthLeaders magazine (written by Philip) says outpatient services will grow by 21.6% between 2009 and 2019, while inpatient utilization will plod along at only 1.7%. "Hospitals and health systems may be entering a window of time in which they have an opportunity to strengthen their hold on their local healthcare market because of payment changes that make it more difficult for physicians to independently carve out lucrative niches in the outpatient market." The article examines the expansion strategies of migrating formerly invasive procedures from inpatient to outpatient settings, and the proliferation of medical malls, which extend access to specialists, where they were previously unavailable.
2. Roundtable: Building and adjusting your outpatient strategy
How do hospitals know where to spend their scarce dollars? What new ways to reach potential customers have proved successful? How will hospitals compete in the future? In this Roundtable discussion, a group of healthcare leaders discuss these questions as the hospital industry makes what could be a historic transition to a more patient-centric mode of operation.
3. Metrohealth: Competing with the Big Boys
Metrohealth, a Cleveland-area public hospital, is where President Jimmy Carter was whisked to after becoming ill while travelling recently. In a competitive market, flanked by the prestigious Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals, the choice may seem surprising, but "MetroHealth is in the midst of transforming itself into a provider of choice—rather than last resort—for Clevelanders and those in its suburbs. It's doing so by remaking its image as a comprehensive healthcare provider, not just a hospital for the indigent, says President and CEO Mark J. Moran." Running a more efficient outpatient operation is just one way it's turning itself around.
4.Rethinking the Future of Outpatient Chronic Care
Speaking of the Cleveland Clinic, this article details how the medical institution is preparing to treat a growing population of aging Americans and their chronic conditions. The Clinic has "decided to better track chronic conditions, coordinate treatment, and schedule timely interventions" mainly through continuous monitoring, following patients with multiple chronic diseases in a clinical setting and via patient self-management.
5.Four Ways to Accelerate ED Triage, Boost Revenue
Long waits in the emergency department aren't just bad for patients. They're bad for hospitals, which are under increasing pressure to improve ED service, as delays can impact revenue. "Having a speeded-up ED process is something 'we take advantage of,' says the CEO of a 128-staffed-bed community hospital in New York State, 'We have a half-hour distance from our competitors. People have a choice where to go for their ED treatment. We're doing this because people are voting with their feet.'"
6.With Help, Patient Assistance Programs Can Save You Millions on Outpatient Drugs
This article explains how hospital pharmacies and patient advocates can work with patients to potentially save millions of dollars through bulk purchasing and better patient assistance.
7. FACTFILE: Outpatient Trends
The growth of outpatient procedure volumes has been largely beneficial to hospitals, but for some procedure groups, hospital share has declined as nonhospital settings have shown share increases, notably in major outpatient surgery. Still, focusing on significant procedure groups, from 2007 to 2009, hospital-based outpatient utilization rates grew more rapidly (4.6% annually) than non-hospital providers (1.9%).