Providers pursue ’systemness’ to cut costs

Medical inflation is expected to rise to 6.8% in 2015, according to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Hospitals paying more to acquire physician practices, and health IT integration investments for large-scale hospital integration and mergers, will play a major role in the increase in spending, according to the report.

To keep health spending down, providers are implementing “systemness,” where hospitals and healthcare systems streamline administrative activities and standardize practices to eliminate overlap and lower operating costs. This process is one of the highest priorities on hospitals' agendas now, according to PwC. “Reducing redundancies lowers operating costs and should act as a counterbalance on spending growth next year,” the report stated.

Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers