Hospitals responded to an increase in morbidly obese patient admissions by increasing the amount training, services and supplies needed to serve the growing patient population, according to Novation’s 2011 bariatric survey.
The group purchasing organization’s nationwide poll of VHA and UHC hospitals saw a 58 percent increase in admissions of morbidly obese patients in the past 18 months.
The facilities that offered gastric banding surgery reported a 78 percent increase in the number of bariatric-related reconstructive surgeries.
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"These hospitals have continued to see a rise in admissions of obese patients and treatment costs since our last survey in June 2010," Cathy Denning, Novation’s vice president of sourcing operations, said in prepared remarks. "At the same time, they are also putting the resources and training in place to provide quality care for the specific needs of these patients."
Twenty-nine percent of hospitals surveyed renovated their facilities in the past year to accommodate the growing morbidly obese patient population. The average cost of these renovations was $128,000 per facility, according to the survey.
Specialty beds accounted for the biggest increase in bariatric product spending at surveyed hospitals, with nearly half of the facilities renting or leasing specialty beds rather than buying them.
"While the treatment costs for bariatric care increase, hospitals also face the financial pressures of the economy and reduced reimbursement. Because of this, it is more important than ever that we help the hospitals we serve continue to lower their supply costs while providing high quality care," said Denning.
Hospital GPOs have been vocal about signing contract recently, perhaps in response to Medtronic Inc.’s (NYSE:MDT) headline-making, Wall Street-pleasing decision to cut several contracts worth an estimated $2 billion a year for its cardiovascular and orthopedic products with Irving, Texas-based Novation in February.
Just last week, the GPO giant inked six new supply deals for MRI scanners and equipment with Esaote, Hitachi Medical (NYSE:HIT), GE Healthcare (NYSE:GE), Philips Healthcare (NYSE:PHG), Siemens Medical (NYSE:SI) and Toshiba America Medical Systems (TYO:6502).
