Survey on 'Cost Management' Practices Among 100 Hospital Executives

Eucalia Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Hideo Misawa) conducted a survey on cost management practices among 100 hospital executives (including board chairs, hospital directors, and administrative heads) at facilities with 20 or more beds. The survey revealed that nearly half of the executives admitted that some of their outsourcing and maintenance contracts have never been reviewed, highlighting insufficient efforts toward cost optimization.

Background of the Survey: Medical institutions are facing an increasingly difficult operating environment due to rising labor costs and inflation. While labor costs are difficult to reduce, material, outsourcing, and equipment costs (which account for approximately 30% of medical corporation expenditures) are recognized as areas easier to improve. However, challenges such as the high volume of items, the need for specialized knowledge, and long-standing business relationships often cause cost reduction to be deprioritized.

Key Findings: The survey found that while 40% of hospitals manage costs centrally, 36% still rely on individual departments for management. The most common reason for not reviewing contracts was 'long-standing relationships with vendors' (51.9%). Despite these hurdles, 68% of respondents expressed a desire to actively work on cost optimization over the next 1-2 years, indicating a strong willingness to reform despite concerns about internal cooperation and a lack of specialized staff.

Eucalia's Support: Eucalia provides end-to-end support for hospital cost management, from identifying current issues to implementing improvements. Leveraging expertise from 31 partner hospitals, the company assists in designing optimization strategies that maintain medical quality and handles negotiations with vendors to build sustainable cost management systems.