Hospital Margin / Revenue / Reimbursement
News: U.S. hospitals closed Q2 2025 with operating margins steady at ~1.0% nationally, while outpatient revenue rose 12.3% YoY and non-labor costs (drugs, supplies) surged 8-10%. — https://www.stratadecision.com/press-release/hospital-and-health-system-operating-margins-stabilized-throughout-q2-despite-rising
Recommendation: Hospitals should intensify efforts to monitor and manage non-labor cost inflation, tighten supply chain contracts, and expand outpatient services to offset inpatient margin pressures.
Case Study: Allina Health used predictive analytics and care transition redesign to reduce preventable readmissions and cut variable costs by $3.7 million, demonstrating the link between clinical and financial performance. — https://www.healthcatalyst.com/learn/success-stories/care-transitions-allina-health
Hospital Inpatient Throughput
News: A 2024 multicenter Medicare/Medicaid study shows that scheduling follow-up visits 7–14 days post discharge reduces 30-day readmissions by 14-22% among patients with heart failure, COPD, and pneumonia. —
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11451567/
Recommendation: Make follow-up scheduling a discharge standard for high-risk diagnoses, with case managers ensuring patients keep appointments.
Case Studies:
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Allina Health: reduced readmissions and saved ~$3.7 million via analytics and follow-ups.
Kim et al., PLOS ONE (2025) — Transitional Care Management visits within 2 weeks of discharge lowered readmissions by ~26% (HR=0.74). — https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0316892
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Bilicki & Reeves, CDC Preventing Chronic Disease (2024) — Systematic review: follow-ups reduce readmissions by ~21% for heart failure & stroke. — https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2024/24_0138.htm
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Professional Case Management Journal (2025) — Collaborative discharge bundle (case manager screening; meds at bedside; scheduled follow-ups) cut readmissions in high-risk groups. — https://journals.lww.com/professionalcasemanagementjournal/fulltext/2025/05000/reducing_readmissions_using_collaborative_care.5.aspx
Hospital Emergency Department Throughput
News: Outpatient follow-ups and community health worker programs have shown reductions in ED revisits and rehospitalizations; new evidence shows hospital variation in 30-day readmission rates after TAVR, with a median risk-standardized rate of 11.9% (IQR 11.1-12.8%), and rates ranging from 8.8% to 16.5% across 325 hospitals. — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33938233/ PubMed
Recommendation: Hospitals performing TAVR should benchmark their 30-day readmission rates; strengthen discharge planning, length-of-stay optimization, and follow-up scheduling to reduce variation.
Case Study: Kolte et al., J Am Heart Assoc (2021) — shows significant between-hospital variation in 30-day readmissions after TAVR; patients at hospitals with higher readmission rates often discharged later or to non‐home settings. — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33938233/ PubMed
Hospital Bed Placement Throughput
News: Leantaas case study at University of Kansas Health System showed that interrupted OR capacity was mitigated by improved scheduling, increasing OR utilization by 20% and surgical volume by 8% — reducing downstream bed placement delays. — https://leantaas.com/success-stories/iqueue-for-operating-rooms-case-study-the-university-of-kansas-health-system/
Recommendation: Adopt predictive OR block scheduling and capacity dashboards to reduce bottlenecks that delay downstream bed placement.
Case Study: KU Health System improved throughput via OR scheduling redesign. — https://leantaas.com/success-stories/iqueue-for-operating-rooms-case-study-the-university-of-kansas-health-system/
Hospital Patient Satisfaction / Engagement
News: A 2023 multisite study found over 90% of patients reported satisfaction with remote patient monitoring programs, citing convenience, ease of use, and improved communication with care teams. — https://www.jmir.org/2023/1/e44528/
Recommendation: Include satisfaction surveys as standard KPIs in RPM/telehealth programs to ensure usability and engagement.
Case Study: Haddad et al., JMIR (2023) — multisite RPM users reported strong satisfaction, especially with clinician interactions and program responsiveness. — https://www.jmir.org/2023/1/e44528/
Patient Safety / Culture of Safety
News: AHA’s Cost of Caring (2025) shows hospitals receive ~$0.83 for every $1 spent caring for Medicare patients, due to inflation outpacing payment updates. — https://www.aha.org/costsofcaring
Recommendation: Use internal safety metrics, cost dashboards, and supplier negotiation to offset inflation, and invest in case management / follow-ups that help detect risk earlier.
Case Study: Allina Health’s PPR Campaign – risk stratification, discharge redesign, and analytics reduced potentially preventable readmissions. — https://www.healthcatalyst.com/learn/success-stories/care-transitions-allina-health
Quality Metrics to Share with Your Team
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U.S. hospital operating margins steady at ~1.0–1.2% in Q2 2025. — https://www.stratadecision.com/press-release/hospital-and-health-system-operating-margins-stabilized-throughout-q2-despite-rising
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Transitional Care Management visits reduced readmissions by 26%. — https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0316892
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Systematic review: outpatient follow-ups reduced readmissions by 21% for heart failure & stroke patients. — https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2024/24_0138.htm
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Allina Health cut variable costs by $3.7M with care transitions. — https://www.healthcatalyst.com/learn/success-stories/care-transitions-allina-health
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KU Health OR utilization improved by 20% under constrained OR capacity through improved scheduling. — https://leantaas.com/success-stories/iqueue-for-operating-rooms-case-study-the-university-of-kansas-health-system/
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JMIR study: >90% patient satisfaction with remote monitoring. — https://www.jmir.org/2023/1/e44528/
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Variation in 30-day TAVR readmissions: median ~11.9% (IQR 11.1-12.8), hospital range 8.8–16.5%. — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33938233/
Leadership Call to Action
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Benchmark readmission rates for procedures like TAVR and adopt best practices from hospitals with lower rates.
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Strengthen discharge planning, length of stay management, and follow-ups for procedural patients.
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Invest in predictive analytics & capacity management to reduce bed placement delays.
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Track patient satisfaction metrics in RPM/telehealth programs alongside health outcomes.
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Engage policy makers for reimbursement reforms to support hospitals dealing with inflation-payment gaps.
📍 Published at National Daily Hospital News
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Editor: Spence Tepper
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