A majority of hospital executives are expecting a boost in spending budgets during the coming years as a result of millions of new patients from healthcare reform changes, but they will employ a host of cost control measures, a new survey suggests.
The survey of 200 hospital executives by L.E.K. Consulting said 60 percent are expecting budget increases in 2011, compared to just 22 percent during last year’s survey, which suggests a return to pre-recession spending. Further, more than 70 percent of the medical center leaders included in the research predicted increases over the next five years.
The majority of those increased budgets will be spent on healthcare information technology, facilities and capital equipment, according to the results of the survey (PDF).
But while the survey suggests that the industry might be shedding some rust, it doesn’t necessarily mean a return to the salad days, as hospitals will continue on with some of their austerity kick. In order to do so, the use of Group Purchasing Organizations is also expected to jump 20 percent by 2015. GPO’s work on behalf of hospitals to negotiate terms for lower priced items, but the industry might start using those organizations to barter better terms for capital equipment, according to the survey’s results.
This is the second year of L.E.K.‘s survey.