Key Takeaways:
- According to a recent survey by Definitive Healthcare, industry consolidation was listed as the most important trend of 2019.
- Of those surveyed, 25.2% of respondents listed consolidation as the most important trend with 14.4% of respondents listed consumerism as the second most important.
- 35% of mergers and acquisitions occurred in the long-term care field1.
Last year alone, Definitive Healthcare tracked 803 mergers and acquisitions in addition to 858 new affiliation/ partnership announcements. The fast pace of healthcare consolidation is not expected to slow anytime soon as 25.2% of respondents in a recent survey listed it as the single most important trend in healthcare in 2018. Subsequent areas of focus included:
- Telehealth with 13.8% of respondents listing it as the most important
- 11.4% focusing on AI and machine learning
- 11.1% focusing on staffing shortages.
“Thirty-five percent of healthcare M&A activity occurred in the long-term care field, according to Health Leaders. This is indicative of hospitals seeking to control costs and drive down rising readmission rates.
It also relates to another issue likely to accelerate in the coming years, which are the staffing shortages facing providers.
The sector currently suffering the most are long-term care facilities, which struggle to maintain an adequate nursing workforce due to the advanced age of most doctors and nurses in the face of the rapidly aging baby boomer generation. Health Leaders warns that all providers are likely to face these issues going forward”1.
For related articles:
- Staffing Shortages And Nurse Burnout
- Optimized Staffing & Workflow
- Professionalism…Why it Matters [At Every Level]
Sources:
O’Brien, J. (April 22nd 2019) Healthcare Industry Most Focused On Consolidation, Consumerism In 2019