Ambulatory care centers: are they a competitive advantage?

A common assumption found in literature about hospital-sponsored ambulatory care centers is that they increase inpatient admissions and market share. However, little empirical evidence exists to substantiate these assumptions, and it is reasonable to question their accuracy given the nonemergency, routine nature of many of the visits to ambulatory care centers. This study of hospitals in four Massachusetts markets in which at least one hospital sponsored an ambulatory care center questions whether inpatient admissions and market share are affected. The findings indicate that at least in these four markets, ambulatory care centers do not have the desired effects, relative either to past performance or to competing hospitals.