Success or survival. Redeploying strategic assets to maximize their value

As capital sources dry up, hospitals should consider restructuring their finances to maximize the value of current assets, to achieve greater cost efficiency, and to fund new businesses and services that will generate new revenues. Strategic asset redeployment consists of analyzing assets; plans for new business development, equipment, and real estate acquisitions; and the impact on the budget. Hospitals are leasing more frequently to finance new equipment and property, but they are also looking at existing equipment and property to determine whether refinancing through a sale/leaseback makes sense. Also, before a hospital decides to offer a costly new service, such as magnetic resonance imaging, an impartial analysis should first determine the market for and the financial feasibility of the service. Once a service is determined to be viable, the term of the financing should match the life span of the project.