Massachusetts Hospitals Must Make Reforms To Deal With Increasing Demand for Services, Study Says

Massachusetts' "financially strapped" hospitals can not "keep up" with the increasing demand for hospital services without making some reforms, according to a report released Dec. 12, the Boston Herald reports. The report, titled "Why Care? Massachusetts Health Care: On The Brink," consists of mostly of previously released data and was unveiled by a coalition of groups that plan to develop solutions to the problem. Groups involved include the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, Massachusetts Hospital Association, Massachusetts Medical Society, Massachusetts Bankers Association, Massachusetts High Technology Council and Massachusetts Organization of Nurse Executives. The report states that Massachusetts hospitals have cumulatively lost $1.1 billion over the last six years. In addition, the state faces a nursing shortage and could have "more patients than hospital beds" by 2006. James Howell, an economist and author of the report, said the impending bed shortage "graphically captures the fact that the system is on the cusp of facing very serious stress both in terms of patient care and financials," adding, "We've got a pretty serious problem here, and we better start doing something about it" (Heldt Powell, Boston Herald, 12/12).