Paul Keckley, managing director of the Navigant Center for Healthcare Research and Policy Analysis, presents three ways by which hospitals can  improve their operating margins:

1. Improve reputation. 

He cites a 2012 World Economic Forum study that found  that on average more than a quarter of a company’s market value is  attributable to its reputation, and he notes that Deloitte says  that number is likely even greater today.

2. Revamp billing and collections. Confusing medical bills and frustrating collections processes can hurt patient experience, drive away current and potential customers (patients and their families) and hurt a hospital’s bottom line.

3.  Improve communication strategy.  Communication  is the link between clinical efficiency and the patient experience as patients move from the hospital, to the primary-care physician’s office, to  outpatient clinics and into homes.

Communication failures cause 69 percent of hospital-based accidental deaths and injuries. These failure can severely erode hospitals’ bottom lines.