Hospital productivity has been on the rise

Although hospitals have been under the microscope for the cost of the care they provide, their productivity has continued to improve. Productivity in the treatment of Medicare patients grew 0.78 percent for heart attacks, 0.62 percent for heart failure and 1.9 percent for pneumonia, according to a new study published in Health Affairs. These numbers had been adjusted for the severity of the illness of the patient; otherwise, the numbers suggested a decrease in productivity. That is primarily due to the increase in the cost of care for treating those patients. Article