Inpatient utilization was flat or declined in the first half of 2014 for 68 percent of Kaufman Hall's nonprofit hospitals, while outpatient utilization increased, according to a recent survey conducted by Kaufman Hall.
The survey findings, based on the responses from executives at 1,400 hospitals, showed that as the majority of hospitals experienced a decline of inpatient utilization, 72 percent had an increase of outpatient utilization. Additionally, the survey found that emergency department use was flat or declined for 60 percent of the hospitals.
The survey results reflect the transformation of the healthcare system from expensive inpatient fee-for-service payment models to a value-based care system.
However, according to the survey, overall penetration of value-based payment is low. Over 75 percent of responding hospitals reported that less than 10 percent of their revenue is associated with any risk-bearing contract. However, about two-thirds of respondents believe value-based payment will account for at least 10 percent of their revenue over the next two years.