Is hospital outsourcing a short-term trend?

Hospitals have increasingly reduced costs with outsourcing to deal with Medicare cuts and healthcare reform, according to Becker's Hospital Review.

Despite this, experts believe the trend may not persist in the long term. "The driver is the cuts in reimbursement," Becker's quoted Adam Higman, vice president at Soyring Consulting, in the article. 

Housekeeping, food services and other support staff, are usually most affected by outsourcing, but there has been increased outsourcing in more specialized functions, such as IT and clinical services, the article said.

However, the shift toward healthcare outsourcing may reverse as hospital consolidation increases among hospitals and physician groups, according to the article. 

"What I think is going to happen is as hospital systems get bigger, they may begin creating their own operations," Barnabas Health President and CEO Barry H. Ostrowsky said. "Outsourcing may start to decline as companies are big enough to perform the services in an equally efficient way."

Read the article.