Hospital working margins and affected person volumes fell barely in March, in accordance with a brand new report from Kaufman Corridor.

The one-month hospital working margin index ended March at 3.4% – down barely from 3.6% in February. It's additionally value noting that March ended with an working margin index of three.9% 12 months thus far – which remains to be considerably greater than the 1.9% index that ended 2023.

Though hospitals did comparatively effectively financially within the first quarter of the 12 months, the report's information might point out that hospitals might face additional monetary challenges. At this level, it's unclear whether or not the current declines in hospital margins and volumes will probably be short- or long-term, mentioned Erik Swanson, senior vp at Kaufman Corridor.

“Nothing we now have signifies that we must always anticipate a serious drop in quantity, however the coming months will assist us higher perceive these long-term developments,” he explains.

The report additionally exhibits that hospitals' outpatient revenues fell 5% in March, largely as a result of aggressive panorama of outpatient care.

“Many hospitals are within the means of providing extra outpatient care choices resulting from quantity shifts. Nonetheless, they usually compete for sufferers with an rising variety of peer organizations, retailers and different non-traditional suppliers,” Swanson mentioned.

He additionally highlighted the continued improve in unhealthy money owed and hospital charities, in addition to elevated accounts receivable days, as further monetary challenges.

In line with him, a part of the rise in accounts receivable balances is as a result of Change Healthcare cyber assault, as organizations lengthen the interval by which they are going to acquire. However the rising unhealthy money owed is also a symptom of bigger developments, comparable to shifting the combination of payers away from business payers, Swanson added.

To offset declining income and quantity developments, the report recommends hospitals increase development in high-performing areas comparable to ambulatory surgical procedure facilities, pharmacies and imaging providers. Relying on the hospital, it might even be a good suggestion to arrange a retail presence, Swanson famous.

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