Hospital profit margins are continuing to decline steeply. In the second quarter of 1999, operating margins plummeted 50%, compared to the same period last year, according to a report by HBS International, a provider of outcomes management systems in Bellevue, Wash.
The report, The Health of Our Nations, indicates there is an inverse relationship between hospital size and average operating margins. For instance, in Q2 the largest hospitals demonstrated the smallest average operating margin at 2.6%, while the smallest hospitals averaged the largest operating margin at 4.9%.
(HBSI, http://www.hbsi.com, 800/290-8982)