Dive Brief:
- A new survey from the American College of Healthcare Executives concludes that financial issues, for the tenth straight year, are the number one concern of healthcare executives.
- Healthcare reform implementation came in second place, followed by concern over government mandates and patient safety and quality.
- The study queried 288 community hospitals CEOs who were asked to rank 11 issues affecting their hospitals in order of importance, then name specific areas of concern within those issues.
Dive Insight:
Particularly in 2014, with huge changes in reimbursement modes such as value-based purchasing on the near horizon, it's little wonder that CEOs say financial issues are the number one concern. Not only are they worried about the usual problems the industry faces, such as inadequate reimbursements for Medicare and Medicaid, they're anticipating growth in bad debt due to high deductible health plans, falling patient volumes and more. For most hospitals, surviving 2014 with their credit rating and staff will be a big challenge.