Budgeting

An increasing number of healthcare organizations are turning to demand forecasting, crunching numbers to help them determine potential device usage, patient demand and even to decide whether or not to build new facilities.

For healthcare financial executives, the integration of a new operation carries many challenges. And not the least is the question of how to compensate physicians who are joining the organization.

Collaboration with university-based business schools can bring a new perspective to hospital and health system problems, especially when trying to introduce new thinking into an organization.

After several years of modest increases, U.S. spending on medications is projected to shoot up by 12 percent this year, pushing the nation's drug bill to between $375 billion and $385 billion.

There's a great deal at stake in hospital sourcing and the management of medical supplies. A focus on lowering costs by standardized purchasing of drugs or devices can't come at the expense of compromising high-quality care.

Most hospitals already have in place plans to cope with disasters such as tornadoes and plane crashes, but the Ebola virus presents a different challenge. Because of the risk and expense involved, a hospital's CFO should be an integral part of Ebola planning and preparation efforts.

Opportunities still exist within the healthcare supply chain for improvement and greater efficiency of operations. Lately, price alignment strategies appear to be at the forefront as the newest hope for cost containment.

Hospitals dependent on Medicaid disproportionate share allocations must discover new financing models for low-income patients, or else lobby their state governments to make policy changes.

As cost control initiatives take on increasing weight at hospitals and health systems, organizations must focus more intently on stemming the costs of medical device procurement.

Hospitals' struggle for financial sustainability continues and may be getting worse, as CFOs say information technology investments draw more resources than expected and threaten to crowd out other priorities.