Will the building boom of trauma centers turn into a glut that could hit hospital finances hard while hurting care by fragmenting the care of the patient population? Increased insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act is adding to the recent expansion in the number of trauma centers.
Other experts worry that splitting the available patient pool between two trauma centers will worsen outcomes, in part by reducing the experience and expertise that clinicians in each center can develop.
Of course, running a trauma center can benefit hospital systems by acting as a powerful marketing tool to attract other patients and top specialists. Indeed, many hospitals see an “increase in emergency department visits after opening a trauma center,” Modern Healthcare noted.
