March 7, 2012

Hospital Spending To Grow

A new survey conducted by L.E.K. Consulting indicates a predicted rise in spending and aggressive supplier negotiations by hospitals during 2012. The study, which surveyed 200+ hospital executives, found that 61% expect budgets to grow through the year, in such areas as healthcare I.T. (57%), facilities and major medical devices (35%), and many expect growth in infection-fighting disposables. In fact, budgets are expected to rise through the coming five year period.

But the study also revealed that hospitals can be expected to drive ever harder bargains for their purchasing. Eighty percent stated that they will continue or step up pressure on suppliers to cut costs, while the number that anticipate greater use of purchasing organizations grew from 52% to 62% over last year.

The investigators cited the Affordable Care Act as a driver for the increase in hospital spending. CarePrecise healthcare provider data contains 31,270 hospital records as of February 29, 2012, representing 5,755 hospitals with 942,000 beds and total 2011 expenditures of $751 billion.

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