A team of Wells Fargo Securities, LLC analysts have provided insight into the 2021 third quarter financial and operating results provided by two of the largest for-profit hospital groups in the U.S.
Outpatient Volume Up, Inpatient Down: New Report
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The analysts looked at patient growth patterns for two of the largest hospital networks in the United States: Nashville-based HCA Healthcare, Inc. and Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corporation. Both HCA Healthcare and Tenet Healthcare, wrote Wells Fargo’s analysts to institutional investors, reported that outpatient procedures were more robust than inpatient procedures.
Specifically, for HCA Healthcare, during the third quarter 2021, when compared to the same period of 2020, same facility inpatient surgeries declined 4.9% while same facility outpatient surgeries increased 6.4%.
In light of the pandemic, HCA Healthcare went on to compare cases from the same period in 2019 to provide additional context. HCA Healthcare also reported an 11.2% decline in inpatient surgery cases when compared to the third quarter 2019. However, HCA Healthcare did note that its outpatient surgeries grew +0.6% compared to the third quarter 2019.
In the HCA Healthcare press release, HCA Healthcare CEO Sam Hazen commented, in part, “During the third quarter we experienced the most intense surge yet of the pandemic, and our colleagues and physicians delivered record levels of patient care to meet the demand caused by the Delta variant.”
HCA Healthcare, Inc., the biggest for-profit hospital group in the U.S., ended its third quarter on September 30, 2021. During the third quarter, according to HCA Healthcare, “revenues totaled $15.276 billion” and “net income attributable to HCA Healthcare, Inc. totaled $2.269 billion, or $7.00 per diluted share.” Additionally, “adjusted EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization] totaled $3.224 billion” and “cash flows from operating activities totaled $2.277 billion.”
Tenet Healthcare Corporation also released its 2021 third quarter results and reported net income of $448 million and consolidated adjusted EBITDA of $855 million.
This analysis was provided by a team of medical tech analysts led by Wells Fargo Senior Analyst Larry Biegelsen, including Lei Huang, Nathan Treybeck, and Charles Ellison.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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