National Daily Hospital News — Executive Briefing
Date: Tuesday, September 9, 2025
Tag: Executive Healthcare Briefing
1) Hospital Margin / Revenue / Reimbursement
(Chosen today: Margin—most current updates)
News
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New Kaufman Hall flash shows performance has softened as expense growth outpaces revenue, pressuring margins.
https://www.kaufmanhall.com/insights/research-report/national-hospital-flash-report-july-2025-data Kaufman Hall -
Becker’s reports average hospital margins fell to ~2.6% on the latest read, with wide regional and size variation.
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/hospital-margins-slide-to-2-6-average-profitability-declines-6-notes/ Becker's Hospital Review
Recommendations
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Tighten non-labor cost controls (pharmacy, supplies, purchased services) as the current squeeze is driven mainly by non-labor expense growth.
https://www.kaufmanhall.com/insights/research-report/national-hospital-flash-report-july-2025-data Kaufman Hall -
Prioritize outpatient/ASC yield management and pricing discipline since systems with stronger ambulatory portfolios are separating from peers.
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/what-separates-high-and-low-performing-hospitals-in-2025/ Becker's Hospital Review
Case Study examples
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By region and bed size, margin outcomes diverged sharply (e.g., Northeast/Mid-Atlantic up 38%; West down 13%), offering a benchmark to stress-test local strategies.
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/what-separates-high-and-low-performing-hospitals-in-2025/ Becker's Hospital Review
2) Hospital Inpatient Throughput (include Discharge-by-Time-of-Day where available)
News
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Multi-year DBN program sustained discharges-before-noon from ~9.5% to 26.6% without harming LOS or readmissions.
https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-024-10960-x BioMed Central -
“Things We Do for No Reason” warns that DBN as a stand-alone metric can produce unintended consequences unless embedded in whole-hospital flow.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11613578/ PMC
Recommendations
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Pair EDD on day 1 + daily IDRs + next-day discharge tasking to achieve DBN gains that don’t backfire on ED boarding.
https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-024-10960-x BioMed Central -
Track orders placed before 10 a.m. (DCOB) as a lead driver of sustained DBN improvement.
https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-024-10960-x BioMed Central
Case Study examples
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Academic center increased and sustained DBN with structured bundles while maintaining safety and readmissions.
https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-024-10960-x BioMed Central
3) Hospital Emergency Department Throughput (errors, door-to-treatment, readmissions, ED LOS, bed holding)
News
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ED short-stay/observation models are repeatedly linked to reduced ED LOS and boarding, helping decompress core flow.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12268096/ Becker's Hospital Review -
ACEP highlights nationwide boarding and reports that throughput bundles are essential to mitigate safety risks and delays.
https://www.acep.org/qips/newsroom/winter-2025/optimizing-throughput-in-the-emergency-department-one-institutions-experience ACEP
Recommendations
-
Stand up ED short-stay/SDEC pathways for targeted cohorts to lower LOS and bed-holds.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12268096/ Becker's Hospital Review -
Use load-leveling and continuous-improvement tactics to cut door-to-room and LWBS/LBTC without worsening boarding.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0735675725005893 ScienceDirect
Case Study examples
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Observational units and improvement bundles reduced ED LOS and sustained gains across months.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12268096/ Becker's Hospital Review
4) Hospital Bed Placement Throughput (IP LOS reduction, ED/bed-hold reduction)
News
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Centralized bed-management command centers improve admission/transfer control and reduce boarding when paired with real-time analytics.
https://www.ecgmc.com/insights/blog/1522/why-are-more-hospitals-building-command-centers/ ecgmc.com
Recommendations
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Establish a capacity command center with authority over placements and visibility across transfers, transport and EVS.
https://www.ecgmc.com/insights/blog/1522/why-are-more-hospitals-building-command-centers/ ecgmc.com -
Incorporate predictive demand/census tools and escalation rules to unblock discharges and elective admits.
https://rydecentral.com/blog/evolving-role-of-command-centers-in-hospital-efficiency/ Ryde Central
Case Study examples
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Systems adopting command centers report faster placements and lower boarding when governance and analytics are unified.
https://rydecentral.com/blog/evolving-role-of-command-centers-in-hospital-efficiency/ Ryde Central
5) Hospital Patient Satisfaction / Engagement
News
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CMS confirms 2025 HCAHPS star rating updates for October public reporting, signaling shifted benchmarks.
https://hcahpsonline.org/en/whats-new/ HCAHPS Online -
Recent studies show bedside interdisciplinary rounds (IDRs) improve patient communication and satisfaction.
https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/14/2/e003314 BMJ Open Quality
Recommendations
-
Implement bedside IDRs on high-volume units with scripting for teach-back and next-steps clarity.
https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/14/2/e003314 BMJ Open Quality -
Align local PX dashboards to 2025 HCAHPS changes to avoid year-over-year comparability traps.
https://hcahpsonline.org/en/whats-new/ HCAHPS Online
Case Study examples
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University-led work demonstrated significant PX gains after standardizing bedside IDRs.
https://news.cuanschutz.edu/news-stories/transforming-patient-care-study-finds-bedside-interdisciplinary-rounds-boost-satisfaction-for-patients-and-providers CU Anschutz News
6) Patient Safety / Culture of Safety
News
-
Joint Commission’s 2024 Sentinel Event Data Annual Review (PDF) – includes counts, categories (falls, wrong surgery, delays, etc.), and severity analysis.
AHRQ’s SOPS® Hospital Survey resources (updated Aug 2025) support regular culture measurement and benchmarking.
Recommendations
-
Map your top two harm modes to relevant Sentinel Event Alerts and require unit-level countermeasures.
https://www.jointcommission.org/en-us/knowledge-library/sentinel-events Joint Commission -
Run SOPS® 2.0 on a 12–18-month cadence and feed back results within 30 days at the unit level.
https://events.westat.com/sops/img/SOPS%20101%20Slides%20for%20IxD%20FINAL%20SLIDES%201-14-2025.pdf events.westat.com
Case Study examples
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Hospitals contributing to the SOPS Hospital Database use comparative feedback to target culture gaps.
https://www.ahrq.gov/sops/databases/hospital/index.html AHRQ
Quality Metrics to Share with Your Team (≤7)
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Operating margin pressure persists as non-labor expenses outpace revenue growth (latest Flash Report).
https://www.kaufmanhall.com/insights/research-report/national-hospital-flash-report-july-2025-data Kaufman Hall -
Average margins ~2.6% on newest read; monitor local variance vs. national spread.
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/hospital-margins-slide-to-2-6-average-profitability-declines-6-notes/ Becker's Hospital Review -
DBN sustained to ~26.6% over 41 months with early order entry as key driver.
https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-024-10960-x BioMed Central -
ED LOS decreases with ED short-stay/SDEC models in targeted cohorts.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12268096/ Becker's Hospital Review -
Load-leveling reduces door-to-room and LWBS/LBTC without worsening boarding.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0735675725005893 ScienceDirect -
Command centers correlate with improved placements and lower boarding when authority and analytics are unified.
https://www.ecgmc.com/insights/blog/1522/why-are-more-hospitals-building-command-centers/ ecgmc.com -
Bedside IDRs improve PX communication domains—align to 2025 HCAHPS updates.
https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/14/2/e003314 BMJ Open Quality
Leadership Call to Action (≤5)
-
Launch a 30-day DBN bundle (EDD day 1, bedside IDRs, next-day tasking, early orders) and track DBN/ED boarding weekly.
https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-024-10960-x BioMed Central -
Stand up ED short-stay/SDEC pathways for chest pain/low-acuity medical cohorts; measure ED LOS and LWBS/LBTC.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12268096/ Becker's Hospital Review -
Formalize a capacity command center with escalation rules and predictive census to reduce placement delays.
https://www.ecgmc.com/insights/blog/1522/why-are-more-hospitals-building-command-centers/ ecgmc.com -
Run SOPS® 2.0 this quarter and link top harm modes to Sentinel Event Alerts with unit-level actions.
https://events.westat.com/sops/img/SOPS%20101%20Slides%20for%20IxD%20FINAL%20SLIDES%201-14-2025.pdf events.westat.com -
Refresh non-labor cost playbooks (pharmacy, supplies) with quarterly targets tied to service-line margins.
https://www.kaufmanhall.com/insights/research-report/national-hospital-flash-report-july-2025-data Kaufman Hall
📍 Published at National Daily Hospital News
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Editor: Spence Tepper
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