Hospitals are facing intense competition over outpatient services, which means that particular care should be given when identifying outpatient services to keep on campus, according to experts featured in HFMA's latest Financing the Future report, Construction Trends and Capital Implications. The project is sponsored by GE Healthcare Financial Services.
Because of increasing costs of capital, savvy healthcare executives have started putting outpatient services off campus in business rather than institutional settings. In such a setting, services cost less per square foot to build and are more accessible to patients. Adding to the appeal of these projects in recent times is the revenue potential and improved financing opportunities frequently afforded by tying in retail components or complementary healthcare services.
Among specific criteria healthcare executives should use to make this decision are:
- Need for proximity to other hospital services or facilities
- Adequacy of existing space
- Potential to decompress/backfill existing capacity/space
- Availability of staff and/or other scarce resources
- Enhancement of functional adjacencies
Moving ambulatory care services away from the hospital frees up hospital space for core services and advanced technology. That said, the experts also stressed that any decision regarding optimal setting for outpatient services should be firmly grounded in population- and demographic-based forecasting and physician support.
You can get more information from the full Financing the Future report.
You can get many more tools for capital planning from HFMA's quarterly publication Strategic Financial Planning. The winter 2008 issue includes a tool for assessing different types of outpatients.
More tools for strategic financial planning are featured in HFMA's spring seminars, upcoming in New Orleans (March 3-6) and Seattle (May 5-8). Each seminar gives you the practical, real-world information you need to advance your career. Topics include financial and healthcare business management, revenue cycle improvements, consumer-focused practices, and payment trends/managed care.
And you can learn other strategic imperatives from "The Top 8 Healthcare Issues in 2008," HFMA's March 3 audio webcast. The webcast examines the changing regulatory environment and the potential impact on the health industry, market trends and key changes in the health industries environment during the coming year, and trends around transparency, value, and globalization.
Visit the HFMA web site for more business resources that will help you make a difference in your organization.
If you have questions or comments about HFMA Wants You to Know, contact Robert Fromberg.
HFMA Wants You to Know ISSN: 1540-0697. Volume VII, Issue 3. Copyright 2008, Healthcare Financial Management Association. All rights reserved.