Outpatient outlook

• Published in: Health Care Strategic Management Vol. 25; no. 3; p. 7
• Main Author: Olsen, Kara
• Format: Newsletter Trade Publication Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago HCPro, Inc 01-03-2007; Health Care Strategic Management
• Subjects: Changes; Forecasts and trends; Health care delivery; Medical care, Cost of; Outpatient care facilities; Quality of care; Reimbursement; United States > US
• ISSN: 0742-1478

As more procedures move from hospitals to freestanding care centers, providers should heed subtle shifts that may affect the future of outpatient services. Minimally invasive and interventional procedures have decreased the need for lengthy hospital stays, and high-tech imaging equipment has moved out of hospital corridors and into easier-access locations. One reason for the shift is the increasing cost of technology. Reimbursement changes are also afoot as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services seeks to equalize the effect of its earlier push for outpatient care. This shift is due, in part, to convenience, but also to the ability of a disease-specific facility to offer greater value and a higher standard of specialty care around a chronic illness or disease.