Growth Analysis of a Hospital

Growth analysis of healthcare market is getting more complex by the day due to increasing numbers of the aging population, the prevalence of chronic ailments and exponential growth of digital technologies. These factors are creating more complex demands by the patients and caretakers and also increasing healthcare expenditures. As hospitals are major contributors to clinical revenues, analysis of hospital facility growth forms a vital constituent for analyzing and measuring the growth of the healthcare sector.

Analysis of hospital efficiency growth has also assumed significance as hospitals have been on continuous pressure to improve performance by controlling costs without compromising on the quality and access to the care services they render. It is well-known that hospital efficiency is a complicated and multifaceted parameter as it involves both clinical and managerial aspects. The efficiency of hospitals can be analyzed by the benchmarking process. Here benchmarking implies deployment of tools based on active and voluntary collaboration between various healthcare partners to create a spirit of competition and evolve best practices.

By benchmarking, hospitals are able to understand their competitive strengths and identify the functional areas for improvement by developing strategies for

• Sustaining growth
• Positioning their offerings
• Expanding the care services portfolio
• Formulating and estimating their marketing budgets for branding and making further expansions

Metrics for Analyzing Hospital Productivity

• Length of Stay - This metric measures the duration between the patient’s admission to and discharge from the hospital. This information is critical as it helps to analyze care efficiency. Patients requiring a longer length of stay impact the hospital’s finances as more treatment expenses are involved.
• Readmission Rates - This metric is used for tracking the percentage of patients who are admitted back to the same or different hospital to address the same (existing) health condition or complications arising from it within a month of discharge. Lower readmission rates depict better quality of dispensed care.
• Patient Satisfaction - Several parameters ranging from care quality to cleanliness and hygiene standards of care facilities are assessed to measure patient satisfaction. This metric provides actionable data for hospitals to improve patient experiences.
• Mortality Rates - Patient mortality rates measure the number of deaths that occur during hospitalization. This metric is a strong indicator that portrays ways to stabilize patients after surgeries or other clinical procedures to avoid casualties.
• Bed Utilization Rate - Also termed as bed occupancy rate, this metric is used to measure the total number of hospital beds that are being used at any given point of time. Low occupancies indicate poor efficiency and productivity as hospitals are spending unnecessary money on maintenance of staff, facilities and infrastructure.
• Incidents - Hospital incidents refer to unforeseen situations and conditions including cases of sepsis, post-respiratory failures, sudden hemorrhages and fatal infections. Tracking hospital incidents quantifies the ability of hospital staff to deliver comprehensive and standardized care services to patients without triggering adverse reactions.
• Average Cost per Discharge - By tracking the average care costs incurred by every discharged patient, hospitals can analyze what departments or services are making more profits and which other therapy areas are overspending. That helps in adjusting care provisions accordingly so that hospital performance is not negatively impacted by high care costs and low margins.
• Operating Margin - The difference between the hospital revenue and its operating expenses including staff salaries, cost of supplies, medical equipment and their maintenance and rent indicates the operating margin. It is crucial that the hospital is able to incur these expenses without making debts.
• Growth patterns in Outpatient Hospital Services - Technological advancements like minimally invasive surgical procedures are tilting the equilibrium in favour of outpatient services that enable patients to return home sooner. Such growth patterns increase productivity and revenues by helping hospitals render services in lower-cost care settings with enhanced facilities.