More efficient hospitals are closing

An examination of factors related to hospital closures reveals a disconcerting trend. Hospitals that closed in 1991 appear to have been more efficient than hospitals that closed in 1990, and hospitals that closed in 1990 appear to have been more efficient than hospitals that closed in 1989. This trend suggests that future hospital closures may pull relatively efficient hospitals out of the healthcare system. The end result may be increases, not decreases, in total healthcare costs.