Healthcare CFOs Plan to Invest in Patients, Partnerships in 2022

After nearly two years in a global pandemic, the healthcare industry has faced numerous hurdles. But healthcare chief financial officers (CFOs) have high hopes for the upcoming year and plan to improve performance by investing in patients, new partnerships, and health equity initiatives, the 2022 BDO Healthcare CFO Outlook Survey found.

The survey included responses from 100 healthcare industry CFOs with revenues between $250 million and $3 billion. Rabin Research Company gathered the data in October 2021.

In 2021, patients began returning to their usual pattern of healthcare utilization after forgoing or delaying care during the first year of the pandemic. Most of the CFOs reported that their organizations were in peak financial condition, and 53 percent said that they would seek to maintain this position and focus on gradual, continuous growth in 2022. Nearly 75 percent of CFOs said they expected to see revenue growth in the future.

In order to meet these expectations, organizations are planning to invest in strategies that benefit patients.

Four in ten organizations planned to improve the patient experience, 30 percent said they would expand service lines, and 29 percent reported that they would focus on investments that restore patient confidence.

Prioritizing patients can ensure hospitals and other health systems maintain steady revenue. To keep patients satisfied, organizations can create a safe atmosphere, leverage telehealth and virtual resources, and promote health equity in their community, the report noted.

Nearly 70 percent of organizations expected their profits to increase in 2022, but 45 percent reported that they would undergo a strategic cost reduction exercise to meet these goals.

Healthcare organizations have also suffered from staffing shortages since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Four in ten CFOs said that attracting and retaining new talent would be a challenge in 2022, but 42 percent plan to invest in solutions to address frontline worker burnout.

More than 40 percent of organizations reported that they planned to increase their investments in different areas of care, including specialty care, telehealth, ambulatory service centers, post-acute residential care, and hospice care.

The pandemic highlighted the value of healthcare partnerships, and many organizations plan to expand their facilities through new collaborations.

For example, 53 percent of organizations reported that they would pursue digital transformation in 2022, and 42 percent said they planned to expand a product or service.

Additionally, 62 percent of organizations planned to pursue a transaction in 2022, such as a merger or acquisition. Three in ten organizations said they were considering acquiring a physician practice and 37 percent reported they might join a clinically integrated network.

The top factors driving these partnerships included new technology or capability integration, economies of scale, and revenue diversification, the report found. The top three areas of innovation were improvements to existing products or services, new or improved processes for greater internal efficiency, and collaborations or partnerships.

Healthcare organizations are also prioritizing health equity, as the pandemic emphasized that health disparities and barriers to care exist now more than ever.

“The pandemic turned the spotlight on health equity, but the reality is that the health equity conversation has been ongoing for decades, with hospitals at the center of efforts to distribute equitable care to vulnerable communities,” Herman Williams, MD, managing director of the BDO Center for Healthcare Excellence and Innovation, stated in the report. 

“Although it’s far from a new concept, we have yet to see industry standards for management, measurement or improvement of health equity. As an industry, we have to work together to create a cohesive vision and understanding of health equity in order to make progress across the US.” 

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts were a primary focus for organizations, the BDO report found. Nearly 60 percent of CFOs thought an ESG program would positively impact their long-term financial performance. Thirty-five percent of organizations were currently investing in strategies to improve health equity, while 32 percent planned to pursue an ESG strategy in 2022.