Article at a glance:

Service-line strategies for US hospitals

• For US hospitals battered by competition, trying to be all things to all patients is no longer a viable strategy.
• One way hospitals can more effectively compete with smaller, more focused competitors is to organize themselves by service line, focusing on building world-class capabilities in just a few clinical areas.
• Hospitals that succeed with this strategy can reap tremendous fiscal benefits while enhancing their ability to serve their communities. But as three disguised case studies show, the successful implementation of a service-line strategy is no mean feat.
• Choosing the right service lines to emphasize requires a superior understanding of a hospital’s economics and competitive environment. Hospitals also need to overhaul the management of both strategic and nonstrategic service lines.