Next in hospital marketing? Mobile microhospitals?
Ron Shinkman writes in FierceHealthcare about the rise of microhospitals and even “bedless hospitals” as hospitals “spin off specialty lines designed to serve certain niches of patients.” We at Cambridge Management Group have been commenting on these phenomena — so indicative of the intense economic and clinical changes, and near-chaos, in America’s healthcare “system” in 2016.
So {p]erhaps “2016 could be called the year of the microhospital,” which have only a few beds and are usually built in an urban or suburban areas
“Those services are not only more convenient for patients, but they also aim to cut the overhead expenses of hospital operators. For example, it is a lot less expensive to operate a microhospital than a major teaching facility,” Mr. Shinkman writes.
“And rather than fragmenting services, organizations that offer … specialty service lines also find it helps to blur the lines between acute care and urgent care, the latter being not only more difficult to market but often subject to lower reimbursement rates than typical hospital inpatient rates.”
“Some industry observers also see them as an alternative to urgent care facilities, a concept that can be more challenging to market to patients than an actual hospital.”
And, Mr. Shinkman adds: “If a minihospital or standalone ER doesn’t cut it, how about a hospital without beds? That’s another service line that appeared to take flight in 2016.”
“Bedless hospitals provide many of the same services as regular hospitals, including an emergency room, infusion services and sometimes even helipads. But patients do not stay overnight. Experts believe patients at these facilities get similar care to what they would receive at regular hospitals, but with a lower risk of contracting infections.”
But can a “bedless hospital” really be called a ”hospital”? The triumph of medical marketing?
To read all of Mr. Shinkman’s piece, please hit this link.
