How did we get here?

Data during the pandemic shutdown is skewed. Millions of Americans were petrified of dying from COVID, so they stopped seeking treatment for disease or illness.

The FDA warned people to shelter in-place if they contracted Covid, yet we now know we needed to seek treatment within the first 5 days to ensure the virus did not infect the lungs.

The pandemic shutdown occurred on March 16, 2020, and the federal government acknowledged the pandemic was over in late 2022.

Performance in 2023 varied based on hospital type, size, location, staffing shortages, and patient fear of reengaging. This dynamic affected almost all hospitals, but the reboot was uneven.

It makes sense to use 2018 and 2019 data as a base for comparison with the pandemic years of 2020, 2021, and part of 2022.

The remainder of 2022 and 2023 represent the reboot phase, yet each subset’s data is unique reflecting the cost of hiring travel nurses and dealing with other staff shortages.

Utilization now one quarter into calendar year 2024 is either at pre-pandemic levels or above, and margins are improving.

A Strategic Advisory should reflect experiential knowledge gathered from years of conceptualization and problem-solving. A Strategic Advisory is at its best when it tackles Big Picture change facing the hospital.

This could be a search for new cash streams with a significant ROI, including any of the following:

• New strategies for wellness initiatives
• New products or services
• Harnessing new technologies
• Optimizing existing operational systems
• Forming new strategic partnerships
• Identifying new market differentiators
• Limiting the impact of industry disruptors or serious market change.

Yes, we provide a Strategic Advisory for Big Picture change.

See what ‘Q’ can do for you!