The Association Between Hospital Margins, Quality of Care, and Closure or Other Change in Operating Status — Ly 2011

The article discusses the pressure hospitals face to improve their quality of care in a financially challenging environment. The study examines the relationship between hospital margins and quality of care, as well as changes in operating status. The cross-sectional observational study analyzed 3,262 non-public U.S. hospitals, looking at hospital margins, quality of care, and changes in operating status. The findings show that hospitals with higher operating margins have better process quality and lower readmission rates. In contrast, low hospital margins are associated with worse processes of care and readmission rates, and an increased likelihood of closure, merger, acquisition, or conversion to a Critical Access Hospital. The study concludes that low-margin hospitals need to be monitored closely for declining quality of care.

Ly, D. P., Jha, A. K., & Epstein, A. M. (2011). The Association Between Hospital Margins, Quality of Care, and Closure or Other Change in Operating Status. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 26(11), 1291–1296. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-011-1815-5