Top Issues Confronting Hospitals: 2018
Financial challenges again ranked No. 1 on the list of hospital CEOs’ top concerns in 2018, according to the American College of Healthcare Executives’ (ACHE) annual survey of top issues confronting hospitals. This survey, sent each fall to community hospital CEOs who are ACHE members, asked respondents to rank 11 issues affecting their hospitals in order of how pressing they are and to identify specific concerns within each of those issues. The survey was sent to 1,402 community hospital CEOs, of whom 355, or 25 percent, responded. This year, respondents cited financial challenges as their top concern, giving it an average rank of 2.8 on a 10-point scale. Governmental mandates and patient safety and quality both ranked second, with average ranks of 5.1. Personnel shortages ranked third, with an average rank of 5.2. The survey results are shown below:
| Issue | Avg Rank |
| Financial challenges | 2.8 |
| Governmental mandates | 5.1 |
| Patient safety and quality | 5.1 |
| Personnel shortages | 5.2 |
| Behavioral health/addiction issues | 5.3 |
| Patient satisfaction | 6.1 |
| Access to care | 6.2 |
| Physician-hospital relations | 6.6 |
| Technology | 7.7 |
| Population health management | 8.1 |
| Reorganization | 8.3 |
| Financial Challenges | % in Top 4 |
| Increasing costs for staff, supplies, etc. | 70% |
| Medicaid reimbursement | 68% |
| Reducing operating costs | 59% |
| Bad debt | 56% |
| Competition from other providers | 50% |
| Managed care and other commercial payments | 50% |
| Medicare reimbursement | 49% |
| Government funding cuts | 48% |
| Transition from volume to value | 48% |
| Revenue cycle management | 43% |
| Inadequate funding for capital improvements | 37% |
| Emergency department overuse | 31% |
| Moving away from fee-for-service | 30% |
| Pricing and price transparency | 29% |
Resources:
Healthcare Executive magazine, March/April 2019.
About Morgan Hunter HealthSearch
Morgan Hunter HealthSearch (MHHS) provides Leadership and Advanced Practice Recruitment services for hospitals and healthcare organizations throughout the United States. Our expertise includes interim leadership, executive search, Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants.