Hospitals say economic crisis is 'far worse' than last

Looked at one way, the current recession is always the worst one...but not this time around. According to a new survey, almost nine in 10 hospital execs believe the current economic downturn will impact them more heavily than the crash of 2001 to 2002.

The study, which was conducted by CSC, found that 55 percent of hospitals have seen Medicaid cuts, and expect to see a rise in uncompensated care. In response, 74 percent of hospital leaders are making changes to respond, and another 20 percent are preparing to do so. More than half (67 percent) expect to see growth in ED visits and 58 percent expect to see fewer routine checkups.

Changes they're making include expense management steps like deferring future construction (60 percent), delaying or deferring IT projects (55 percent) and postponing IT projects already underway (38 percent). Hospitals are also tightening up revenue cycle management (59 percent), cutting staff (43 percent), cutting services (21 percent) and closing facilities (less than 4 percent).

To get more data from the study:
- read this press release from CSC

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