Originally published in FierceHealthcare

By  Scott Elston and Donna Dyer

Since March, the coronavirus has been an all-consuming battle for hospitals and will remain so for some time to come. That’s good news for their ability to weather the pandemic, but bad news for the financial state of healthcare systems as they face sharp falls in their income.

Regular doctor visits and the elective surgeries that are the lifeblood of hospitals’ revenues have all but dried up. As a result, hospitals are burning through cash even as their spending soars due to the demand for scarce equipment and extra staff in response to COVID-19.

As they emerge from the crisis in this weakened financial state, healthcare systems and hospitals will have more incentive than ever to find ways to increase their operating efficiency, pushing costs down without sacrificing the quality of care.

Pre-crisis, healthcare systems varied greatly in their approaches to plan for and manage medical equipment. The pandemic has now made a compelling and urgent case for it, both by highlighting the unpreparedness of many hospitals and through the increasing financial pressures on the industry.

Read the full article at FierceHealthcare