Dail-eNews from MDSI

The AHA (Chicago, IL) released a report that finds the ailing economy is affecting U.S. hospitals. Richard Umbdenstock, the association's president and CEO, says the healthcare industry is being hit hard because many hospitals were already struggling due to pressures including government programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, not paying the full cost of treatment. The reports findings are based on an AHA survey about conditions over the past three months that drew responses from 736 hospitals. The report also uses figures from the July-September 2008 period collected from 557 hospitals that send quarterly reports to a central system run by the Colorado Hospital Association (Denver, CO). Key findings include the following:

67 percent of hospitals saw some drop in elective procedures; six percent saw a significant drop;

63 percent saw some decline in overall admissions; nine percent saw a bigger drop;

Inpatient and outpatient surgeries and emergency department visits were all down roughly one percent in Q3 2008;

Half of hospitals have seen a moderate or significant jump in uncompensated care, with the jump averaging eight percent;

Total profit margin at the Database hospitals dropped from an average 6.1 percent in 2007's third quarter to an average loss of 1.6 percent in 2008's third quarter;

56 percent of hospitals are reconsidering or postponing renovations or expansions, and about 40 percent are delaying improvements to information technology or other equipment.

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