Strata surveyed 100 healthcare finance professionals to gain insights into their margin projections and big areas of focus for the year. Fifty-five percent of the respondents cited margin management as their biggest concern, followed closely by labor expenses. Its unsurprising tight margins and labor expenses were top of mind for most finance leaders, as ballooning salaries and talent shortages may stymie current financial success as well as hamstring growth.
The survey respondents cited margin management among their top concerns reported challenges with identifying, executing and tracking margin initiatives. They also are having trouble “exploring margin performance,” according to the report.
The survey showed 44% of CFOs think their margins will stay the same this year, while 36% expect an increase. Just 14% of CFOs said they expect margins to decrease and the remainder were unsure.
But 96% felt their organizations were nimble enough to overcome shifts in the market. And CFOs see more organized data as essential for margin improvement; 91% of the CFOs said they felt their hospitals should use financial and operational data more in strategic decision-making. Just 61% of CFOs said their organizations use financial and operational benchmarks, with another 34% planning to incorporate them over the next 18 months, according to the report.
