Contract management firms continue their growing years.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Hospital Administration

Background:

• Hospitals increasingly utilize external contract management firms.
• The healthcare industry is experiencing a trend towards outsourcing management services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the growth trends of contract management firms in hospitals.
• To identify leading clinical sectors for contract management services.

Main Methods:

• Survey of 75 contract management companies.
• Analysis of contract growth data from 1990.

Main Results:

• A 13.7% increase in the number of contracts was reported in 1990.
• Clinical sectors, particularly emergency department management, drove the growth.
• Emergency department management emerged as the leading service area.

Conclusions:

• Contract management in hospitals experienced robust growth in 1990.
• The trend indicates a growing reliance on specialized firms for hospital operations.
• Emergency department management is a key area for future development in this sector.