Judging by a random sample of 138 healthcare executives, nearly every denizen of every hospital or health-system C-suite in the U.S. believes patient leakage to be a concern requiring immediate attention.
So reports Minnesota-based Central Logic. The tech company, which specializes in managing patient transfer and scheduling matters, commissioned the survey to focus on both leakage and access in the time of COVID.
The study’s key finding was that 96% of the sample see leakage as a priority while only 31% of those who have a strategy to keep patients local to their institution—“keepage”—have the right tools for the task.
Some 80% of the responding leaders work in the C-suite, and two-thirds represent hospitals with 251 or more beds. More than 20% are with health systems running 1,500 beds or more.
Central Logic says respondents’ roles were “double verified” as senior health system and hospital executives responsible for patient care, hospital administration, finance or operations.
The survey takers further found:
- 80% of executives say value-based care models have made addressing patient leakage more important, but
- 38% either are unconfident or don’t know if their organization has visibility into leakage, and
- 75% see patient leakage as a significant obstacle to their financial goals.
Organizations that don’t use technology to quantify patient leakage were less likely to know which service lines were most affected by loss of patients, the company adds.
Central Logic cites some figures that may help explain the juxtaposition of high concern with low preparedness. Not surprisingly, COVID looms large in health execs’ collective imagination.
During the peak of the pandemic, for example, utilization of cardiology services dropped by 71% while revenue decreased 73%. For orthopedics, utilization dropped by 65% while revenue dropped by 59%.
“While CARES Act funding has offered some financial relief, [affected] organizations are expected to lose more than $323 billion in 2020 due in large part to restrictions on elective procedures and patients canceling or deferring care,” the report authors write.
To this Central Logic CEO Angie Franks adds that “attracting, retaining and repatriating patients back into health system networks is now an incredibly important financial priority for health system leaders, given the massive financial losses they have suffered.”
Download the survey report here (contact info required).
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.