Hospital plant and equipment replacement decisions: a survey of hospital financial managers.
Surveys of capital investment decisions have often neglected issues related to replacement of existing plant and equipment. As acute care hospitals experience declining inpatient utilization, appropriate hospital capital replacement becomes critical to efficiency and survival. Financial managers of 116 large, acute care hospitals were asked to rank factors that typically affect decisions to replace plant and equipment in their facilities. Factors influencing plant were expected to differ from those affecting equipment. The study found that replacements, particularly of equipment, are largely dictated by physicians, accreditors, and regulators. Rising operating costs and utilization were ranked as less important in replacement decisions. In light of impending health reform, these findings suggest that hospital executives need to reorder their replacement priorities to emphasize cost and efficiency.
Campbell
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School of Public Health, Saint Louis University, MO 63108.
D002201:Capital Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D004865:Equipment and Supplies, Hospital / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005377:Financial Management, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006740:Hospital Administrators / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017721:Hospital Costs; D006801:Humans; D008284:Maintenance and Engineering, Hospital / Q000191:economics*; D011682:Purchasing, Hospital; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States