A study conducted by Oxford Outcomes, an independent healthcare consulting firm, suggests physician-owned hospitals could relieve the demand for high quality healthcare in underserved areas, according to a Physician Hospitals of America release.
The study assessed the effects of the Affordable Care Act, a part of which blocks new construction or expansion of physician-owned hospitals, in eight states. The study compares hospital access in counties with one or more physician-owned hospitals. Results showed, of the 46 counties with physician-owned hospitals, 26 counties (56 percent) have hospital bed capacity below the national average. In many cases that shortfall for patients is large.
Many times community hospitals reach capacity and must divert patients to larger, further away cities. The Oxford Outcomes results are congruent with this trend, finding that counties with hospital bed capacities far below the state and national average often are home to at least one physician-owned hospital.
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The study assessed the effects of the Affordable Care Act, a part of which blocks new construction or expansion of physician-owned hospitals, in eight states. The study compares hospital access in counties with one or more physician-owned hospitals. Results showed, of the 46 counties with physician-owned hospitals, 26 counties (56 percent) have hospital bed capacity below the national average. In many cases that shortfall for patients is large.
Many times community hospitals reach capacity and must divert patients to larger, further away cities. The Oxford Outcomes results are congruent with this trend, finding that counties with hospital bed capacities far below the state and national average often are home to at least one physician-owned hospital.
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