Under Financial Pressure, How Are Health Systems Prioritizing Digital Health Investments?

As big tech and retailers continue wading into the care delivery waters, it puts even more pressure on hospitals and health systems to “accelerate on the curve,” and prioritize digital health investments capable of delivering value. In 2022, U.S. hospitals and health systems were up against some of the toughest financial headwinds since the pandemic began. Dried up federal public health emergency (PHE) funding, costlier inpatient stays, decreasing outpatient revenue, and decreased demand for care, still hovering below pre-pandemic levels, are among the financial challenges hospitals and health systems face this year, and will continue to face into the next. Hospitals, in particular, have taken the biggest financial hit. The Median Kaufman Hall Year-To-Date (YTD) Operating Margin Index, which reflects actual margins for 900 U.S. hospitals, was -0.2% through November 2022, according to the company’s National Hospital Flash Report, with more negative months following.