U.S. hospitals and health systems are facing significant financial problems, which is leading them to scale back investments in technology, Politico reported March 15.
As labor costs continue to rise and patient volumes continue to decrease, hospitals and health systems are operating with tighter margins than ever, which is leading them to buy less technology.
“What a hospital or health system is willing to buy is a pretty narrow set of products,” Rebecca Springer, senior health analyst at Pitchbook told Politico.
But, Ms. Springer said tech spending in areas such as staffing, digital therapeutics and chronic conditions is still strong.
This comes after Pitchbook released a report on March 10 detailing that venture capital investments for digital health in 2022 was down to $7 billion, a 55 percent decrease from 2021 when investments totaled $15.6 billion.
