Dive Brief:
- Tenet Health reported Tuesday that admissions on a same facility basis fell 2% during the third quarter compared to a year earlier. The chain's outpatient totals were not much better, increasing slightly by 0.4%. "Our hospitals did not meet our expectations and we are focusing on specific areas to address those gaps," CEO Ronald Rittenmeyer said.
- Tenet lowered its guidance for the year as results from the quarter were called "mixed at best," according to Mizuho analysts.
- The company reported a net loss of $9 million compared with a net loss of $366 million during the prior-year period.
Dive Insight:
On a call with investors Tuesday, Rittenmeyer said the company fell short in hospital operations. "Our growth is not acceptable," he said.
He said the hospital segment faced a number of headwinds, but he said it is important to note that the unit experienced a shift to a greater number of observation cases from inpatient cases, which has a negative impact on admissions. It "suggests we're not losing share but having a shift in share," Rittenmeyer said.
Operating revenue for Tenet's ambulatory, or outpatient, sector increased 7.3% while its hospital segment fell. Revenue for Tenet's Conifer segment also fell due to the loss of third-party customers, Tenet said that's due to its own divestitures in the segment. The company has been looking to sell the revenue cycle management firm.
The company has increasingly turned to divestitures to help ease its debt load. Earlier this year, Tenet exited the both the Chicago market and the U.K. with its sale of Aspen Healthcare.
The firm's outlook for the year now includes a $37 million reduction, at the midpoint, in net income and a $50 million reduction, at the midpoint, for adjusted EBITDA.
Other competitors had mixed results for the quarter. HCA reported a strong quarter despite hurricanes affecting business, but Community Health Systems struggled with 12.4% fewer admissions and a net loss of $110 million.