Shorter lengths of stay and failure to emphasize preventive and outpatient care will push some smaller hospitals out of the competitive market that was meant to strengthen the industry as a whole, according to EHR Intelligence. Hospitals from California to Pennsylvania struggle with readmission penalties, Medicare rate reductions and keeping inpatient rates up. Those factors are some of the reasons why 37-bed Palm Drive Hospital in California will close after declaring bankruptcy twice in the past seven years. Competition from larger health systems means smaller, independent hospitals must find a way to improve quality and cut costs, while adapting to changes in a new wave of healthcare reform, the publication reports. Article