The pandemic pushed many hospitals and health systems to invest in digital transformation as remote care became a necessity, but the past year's financial challenges have forced many CFOs to shift their investment strategies for 2023, according to the "2023 BDO Healthcare CFO Outlook Survey."
Compared to last year's survey, BDO noted that far more CFOs are investing in primary care (a 55 percent increase over 2022), elder care (27 percent increase) and home care (24 percent increase) this year.
On the other hand, more respondents aim to reduce investment in ASCs. Last year, 15 percent of hospitals and health systems planned to decrease investments in ASCs, but that number has jumped to 25 percent this year. BDO attributed this change to the economy's potential effects on the outpatient industry and to the fact that surgery centers have become less profitable over the past several years.
Here are 10 areas where hospitals are increasing or decreasing investment this year, according to the survey, which includes responses from 100 healthcare CFOs.
| Investment area | Increase investment | Decrease investment | Partner with a capital provider or operator |
| Virtual/telehealth | 50% | 26% | 21% |
| Behavioral health | 49% | 23% | 25% |
| Hospice/palliative care | 48% | 27% | 19% |
| Specialty services | 47% | 26% | 21% |
| Elder care | 47% | 16% | 31% |
| Home care | 46% | 20% | 31% |
| Primary care | 45% | 21% | 31% |
| Post-acute residential care | 44% | 30% | 22% |
| Retail properties | 43% | 24% | 28% |
| ASCs | 40% | 28% | 28% |