Hospital budgets are reverting to pre-recession levels due in part to the health reform law, according to L.E.K. Consulting.
Close to 60 percent of the 200 hospital executives polled said they expect to see bigger budgets for 2011, up from 38 percent last year, according to L.E.K.'s Strategic Hospital Priorities Study. Over the next five years, 58 percent foresee more purchasing in IT, 38 percent anticipate more facilities spending and 37 percent predict more spending on large medical devices.
Health reform, which is expected to increase the pool of insured Americans by an additional 32 million, is spurring increased hospital spending to accommodate more procedures. And an emphasis on cost cutting and increasing efficiency is making hospital executives more sensitive to the need to control costs via group purchasing organizations. More than half of the survey's respondents said they plan to use GPOs more by 2015, according to the survey.
Price isn't the only criterion when it comes to purchasing. Where medical devices are concerned, a majority of executives surveyed were willing to pay a 10 or 15 percent premium, on average, for disposables that reduce medical errors and infection rates.
To learn more:
- read the L.E.K. Consulting press release
- read the Strategic Hospital Priorities Study
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