Last month, Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville revealed plans for a $200 million outpatient services facility in Franklin, Tenn., designed to capture market share in one of the state’s wealthier counties. Some officials expect Vanderbilt’s suburban expansion to put pressure on other acute-care facilities in Williamson County since the new outpatient facility will attract sought-after, fully insured patients which other hospitals are trying to retain.
Saint Thomas Health Services and TriStar Health System have also been expanding their presence in the suburbs.
Hospitals are expanding to suburban settings to increase payments from private insurers by attracting “wealthier, younger and better-insured suburban populations,” according to an official cited in the report.
In the past two years, the largest increase in healthcare spending for an American family of four was for hospital outpatient care, according to the report. Outpatient care has outgrown physician services, inpatient care and prescription drugs, becoming one of the most profitable categories of healthcare.
Read the Tennessean report on Nashville-area hospitals’ outpatient services.
Read more on hospitals and outpatient care:
–Struggling West Penn Allegheny Focuses on Urgent Care, Outpatient Centers
–HHS Adds Hospital Outpatient and ED Quality Data to Public Websites
–David Fox: 5 Approaches to Improve Advocate Good Samaritan’s Outpatient Satisfaction
At Becker's 4th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable, taking place November 2–5 in Chicago, more than 1,500 hospital and health system executives tackle decisions that determine whether organizations thrive or merely survive: protecting margins under cost pressure, choosing where to grow, renegotiating payer relationships, stabilizing the workforce and proving real ROI on technology. This is where leaders work through them together, face-to-face. Apply for complimentary registration now.
