The results are based on two separate surveys involving 985 and 735 ambulatory healthcare organizations, respectively. In the first survey, performed Feb.-March 2009, 20 percent of organizations reported an increase in demand and 48 percent reported a decline. By the time the second survey was performed, in Oct.-Dec. 2009, 12 percent of organizations reported an increase in demand and 60 percent reported a decline.
However, the study found that centers that offer subsidized care were more likely to report an increase. “Centers that offer subsidized services, such as student health services, were more likely to report an increase in demand than other types of organizations,” Naomi Kuznets, PhD, managing director of the AAAHC Institute, said in the release. “At the same time, subsidies may not be keeping up with the increases in demand for these services.”
Other findings of the surveys include:
- Fifty-eight percent of respondents in the most recent survey said the economy had negatively impacted their bottom line, a question not asked in the prior survey.
- In both surveys, organizations experiencing decreased demand were more likely to be office-based surgery practices, organizations owned by physicians and organizations located in the Midwest, Southeast and Southwest regions of the country.
- Eighty-three percent reported the economy had a negative impact on patients’ ability to meet co-pays/deductibles (compared to 76 percent in the earlier study)
- Demand for elective procedures continues to decline (reported by 71 percent in the recent study compared to 57 percent in the prior study)
- There is a greater decrease in self-pay versus third-party pay procedures (58 percent vs. 51 percent)
- Decreases in high-cost versus low-cost procedures remained nearly the same (37 percent vs. 35 percent).
- Six percent of respondents to the more recent survey reported decreasing their prices in response to the current economy, compared to 9 percent in the earlier survey, and 17 percent versus 20 percent said they included pricing for services in their marking materials.
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