The changes that specialty hospitals are exacting on the healthcare landscape have been largely anecdotal, prompting the Government Accountability Office to survey general hospitals to determine how competition from specialty hospitals has affected them. In a new report, the GAO found that all general hospitals made an average of 22 operational changes and eight clinical service changes from 2000 to 2005 to remain competitive in a marketplace with many rivals. But contrary to claims from specialty-hospital advocates that competition from specialty hospitals will force general hospitals to improve their quality and efficiency, the GAO found that the presence of a specialty hospital in a market had no influence on the number of changes general hospitals made. “There were no substantial differences in the average number of operational and clinical service changes made by general hospitals in markets with and without specialty hospitals,” said the report. (Click here to download the report.)
