Healthcare chief finance officers (CFOs) have shifted their focus from cost reduction to profitability improvement, according to a Deloitte survey. The survey highlighted a strategic pivot among healthcare finance leaders, with optimizing the workforce being a key lever for achieving cost savings. Despite the challenging environment where operating margin goals were not met by a quarter of finance leaders in the past three years, plans for growth are seen as crucial going forward.
The survey also revealed that marketing and branding have emerged as the top strategic growth priorities for health plan and system CFOs. In addition, finance leaders are investing in advanced cybersecurity technologies and prioritizing investments in core technologies such as customer relationship management platforms. Looking ahead, CFOs are also planning to invest in venture opportunities within health or non-health startups in an evolving approach to revenue diversification.
Healthcare CFOs are increasingly focused on value-based care and reimbursement challenges as they navigate higher costs and the need for margin improvement. The changing payer mix, with a growing reliance on Medicare and Medicaid, is a significant driving factor in shaping their strategic priorities. Furthermore, CFOs are leveraging AI and automation to address staff compensation issues and high turnover rates in the industry.
