Survey: Health executives not optimistic about reform's impact

Increased patient demands for services, which will likely increase the demand for health professionals overall, have a majority of healthcare executives saying they're less than optimistic about health reform, according to an AMN Healthcare poll.

Close to three-fourths of respondents to an email survey of 172 executives, felt that reform would have a "negative impact on their facilities." Only 22 percent said they were pleased with the passing of the reform bill last month. 

"AMN's survey signals that the initial response to healthcare reform by the majority of hospital and medical group leaders is one of concern and it highlights that many healthcare executives are apprehensive about how reform will affect their facilities," Susan Nowakowski, AMN's President and CEO, said in a statement.

The survey aside, medical properties and healthcare-related real estate don't appear to be in any danger after the passage of reform, according senior real estate executives focusing on healthcare, reports Institutional Investor. Still, Frank Spencer, CEO of Cogdell Spencer, a healthcare real estate investment trust, believes that eventually reform will spell the demise of small, independent physician practices. 

"We will see either an integration of physicians into heath systems or very large physician groups that develop a critical mass and can afford to deal with the bureaucracy [of the new law] and offer a range of services," Spencer said. 

To learn more:
- read this AMN Healthcare press release
- read this Institutional Investor piece

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