Community hospital CEOs ranked financial challenges as the top issue confronting their organizations in 2019, according to an annual American College of Healthcare Executives survey.
Personnel shortages came in second, followed by behavioral health/addiction issues.
For the survey, 395 community hospital CEO members of ACHE ranked 11 issues affecting their hospitals based on how pressing they are.
Here is how respondents ranked the issues confronting hospitals in 2019, from most pressing to least pressing.
1. Financial challenges
2. Personnel shortages
3. Behavioral health/addiction issues
4. Governmental mandates
5. Patient safety and quality
6. Access to care
7. Patient satisfaction
8. Physician-hospital relations
9. Technology
10. Population health management
11. Reorganization (e.g., mergers, acquisitions, restructuring, partnerships)
Survey respondents also identified specific areas of concern within each issue. Here are the top three concerns for financial challenges, personnel shortages and behavioral health/addiction issues. (Respondents could choose as many as they wanted.)
Financial challenges
1. Increasing costs for staff, supplies, etc. — 76 percent
2. Medicaid reimbursement (including adequacy and timeliness of payment, etc.) — 71 percent
3. Bad debt (including uncollectable emergency department and other charges) – 60 percent
Personnel shortages
1. Registered nurses — 73 percent
2. Primary care physicians — 61 percent
3. Technicians (e.g., medical technicians, lab technicians) — 61 percent
Behavioral health/addiction issues
1. Lack of appropriate facilities/programs in community – 81 percent
2. Lack of funding for addressing behavioral health/addiction issues – 73 percent
3. Insufficient reimbursement specifically for behavioral health/addiction services – 67 percent
Read more about the survey here.