BES Healthcare Leadership Trends for 2025 Whitepaper

Healthcare Leadership Trends for 2025

2. Multiple Growth Paths Led by Service Line Expansion Healthcare is balancing financial restraint and the need to invest for sustainable long-term growth. Trends probed each respondent’s top three strategic growth paths in 2025. Those attaining counts over 20% were:

49%

41%

35%

31%

VALUE-BASED REIMBURSEMENT GROWTH

SIGNIFICANT COST REDUCTION

NEW SERVICE LINES

EXISTING SERVICE LINE EXPANSION

31%

25%

22%

TELEHEALTH

EXPANDED CONSUMER MARKETING

SIGNIFICANT PARTNERSHIPS WITH PAYERS OR OTHER HEALTH SYSTEMS

This varied agenda incurred some movement from last year. A tried-and-true strategy, existing service line expansion declined to 49% from 56% in 2023 and 64% in 2022. This expansion may be reaching some limits after years of investment. Shift of care site is a dominant motif for new service lines. The transition of procedures from inpatient to outpatient proceeds apace. Over the next decade, ambulatory volume will grow 17% compared to just 3% for inpatient discharges. 1 Hospitals are also opening urgent care centers which are said to produce an average of $450,000 greater referral revenue than from other primary sources. 2

Growth partnerships dipped slightly from last year’s results, but they remain an essential avenue to success for many. A study found that almost 4 in 10 leaders regard strategic partnerships as their topinitiative to redefine their business portfolios. 3

1 Sg2, “2024 Impact of Change Forecast Highlights,” June 2024. 2 Advisory Board, “By The Numbers: Urgent Care is a Referrals Winner for Health Systems,” April 2024. 3 Huron Consulting Group, “Leaders Innovate to Tackle Top Challenges,” 2024.

© B.E. Smith 2025

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