Hospital debts through the eyes of an IT supplier

Abstract

Introduction: Presentation of the scale, changes and effects of hospital debt from the perspective of one of the IT suppliers of the publicly funded healthcare network.

Objective: The aim of our analysis is to examine the hospital debt stock from the perspective of a market player supplying a hospital information system. We pay particular attention to what relationships can be shown from the available accounts receivable data of the service provider (SME), and what effects are exerted on the change in the level of debt owed to it. Our goal is to explore the causes and effects that determine and influence the volume of debt owed by publicly funded service providers to IT suppliers.

Methods: The data for the retrospective analysis were provided by the supplier of the examined hospital information system, as well as by publicly available national hospital debt data. During the analysis, significance levels and correlation coefficients were examined using various statistical methods.

Results: As a result of the investigation, it can be shown that, depending on the state consolidation interventions, many other local effects also influence the willingness to pay of the given institution, as well as the dynamics of the accumulation of debts.

Conclusion: The analysis of the data, the honest exploration of the causes, the examination of their effects and their comparison by institution show that, regardless of the central consolidation, many other aspects also influence the dynamism of the debt portfolio. Detecting and treating these causes provides an opportunity to reduce hospital debts and alleviate the financial burden on healthcare providers. The use of the function developed in the article provides an opportunity for the healthcare sector to operate more efficiently, and last but not least, by ensuring a predictable financial environment, greater patient safety can be achieved through the products and services of better-performing suppliers.