More than 18 months into the global COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, with the Delta variant causing new outbreaks around the world, U.S. hospitals are still very much in crisis mode.
The report attributed this to:
- Sicker patients: More high acuity, inpatient cases requiring longer lengths of stay are contributing to revenue increases, but these gains are offset by higher care costs for treating patients with more severe conditions.
- Higher expenses: Hospitals face increasing costs for labor and personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as other medical and safety supplies needed to care for sicker patients.
- Fewer outpatient visits: Hospital outpatient procedures have yet to fully recover after plummeting with nationwide shutdowns and COVID-19 mitigation efforts in the early months of the pandemic in 2020.
“With cases and hospitalizations at elevated levels again due to the rapid spread of the Delta variant, physicians, nurses and other hospital caregivers and personnel are working tirelessly to care for COVID-19 patients and all others who need care,” said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack in a statement. “At the same time, hospitals are experiencing profound headwinds that will continue throughout the rest of 2021.”
The good news is that data analytics has proved useful for surge planning and to track impacts on healthcare providers during the pandemic. Monitoring key performance indicators such as blood waste, staff utilization, same-day discharge, and vent times can help hospitals preserve resources and contain costs.
Download our white paper Data Analytics in the Time of COVID-19 to learn more about how data collection and tracking can create actionable insights to improve quality of care.