Hospital PMI® at 50.4%; March 2022 Hospital ISM® Report On Business®

TEMPE, Ariz., April 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Economic activity in the hospital subsector grew in March for the 22nd consecutive month, say the nation's hospital supply executives in the latest Hospital ISM^® Report On Business^®.

The report was issued today by Nancy LeMaster, MBA, Chair of the Institute for Supply Management^® (ISM^®) Hospital Business Survey Committee: "The Hospital PMI^® registered 50.4 percent in March, a 6.5- percentage point decrease from the February reading of 56.9 percent, indicating a 22nd consecutive month of growth. The March reading is the lowest since January 2021 (55.8 percent). The Business Activity Index fell into contraction territory in March, and the New Orders Index decreased in March compared to February. The Employment Index decreased slightly in March compared to February. The Case Mix Index registered 43 percent, a decrease of 12.5 percentage points compared to the February reading of 55.5 percent. The Days Payable Outstanding Index reading of 52 percent is down 4 percentage points compared to the figure of 56 percent reported in February. The Technology Spend Index registered 56 percent, a 2.5-percentage point increase from the February reading of 53.5 percent."

LeMaster continues, "Business Survey Committee panelists consistently commented on the reduction of COVID-19 patients in their hospitals. Several commented that staffing shortages were preventing them from meeting demand for elective procedures. Others indicated that a lag is typical between COVID-19 spikes and a return to more 'normal' caseloads. Comments about supply shortages were mixed: Some panelists indicated they were seeing slight improvement; others were still struggling with high volumes of back orders and product substitutions. The Employment Index indicated growth, and a few respondents noted that recruitment efforts had shown results, but the majority commented on the need for additional staffing and constraints caused by ongoing shortages. The notable decline in the Case Mix Index was attributed to the waning of COVID-19 and the slow transition to elective procedures." 

The information compiled in this report is for the month of March 2022.

The Hospital PMI^® was developed in collaboration with the Association for Health Care Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM), an association for the health care supply chain profession, and a professional membership group of the American Hospital Association (AHA).

The data presented herein is obtained from a survey of hospital supply executives based on information they have collected within their respective organizations. ISM^® makes no representation, other than that stated within this release, regarding the individual company data collection procedures. The data should be compared to all other economic data sources when used in decision-making.

The Hospital ISM^® Report On Business^® is based on data compiled from hospital purchasing and supply executives nationwide. Survey responses reflect the change, if any, in the current month compared to the previous month. For each of the indicators measured (Business Activity, New Orders, Employment, Supplier Deliveries, Inventories, Prices, Prices: Pharmaceuticals, Prices: Supplies, Backlog of Orders, Imports, Inventory Sentiment, Case Mix, Days Payable Outstanding, Technology Spend, and Touchless Orders), this report shows the percentage reporting each response and the diffusion index. Responses represent raw data and are never changed. Beginning in January 2021, the Report On Business^® staff and consultants are gathering market information to better validate the Exports Index. Exports Index data are still being collected.

The Hospital PMI^® is a composite index computed from the following, equally weighted indexes: Business Activity, New Orders, Employment and Supplier Deliveries. Diffusion indexes have the properties of leading indicators and are convenient summary measures showing the prevailing direction of change and the scope of change. A Hospital PMI^® index reading above 50 percent indicates that the hospital sub-sector is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally declining. For the sub-indexes, except Supplier Deliveries, an index reading above 50 percent indicates that the sub-index is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally contracting. A Supplier Deliveries Index above 50 percent indicates slower deliveries and below 50 percent indicates faster deliveries.

The Hospital ISM^® Report On Business^® survey is sent out to the Hospital Business Survey Committee respondents the first part of each month. Respondents are asked to ONLY report on U.S. operations for the current month. ISM^® receives survey responses throughout most of any given month, with the majority of respondents generally waiting until late in the month to submit responses to give the most accurate picture of current business activity. ISM^® then compiles the report for release on the fifth business day of the following month.

The Institute for Supply Management^® ("ISM") Report On Business^® (Manufacturing, Services, and Hospital reports) ("ISM ROB") contains information, text, files, images, video, sounds, musical works, works of authorship, applications, and any other materials or content (collectively, "Content") of ISM ("ISM ROB Content"). ISM ROB Content is protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret, and other laws, and as between you and ISM, ISM owns and retains all rights in the ISM ROB Content. ISM hereby grants you a limited, revocable, nonsublicensable license to access and display on your individual device the ISM ROB Content (excluding any software code) solely for your personal, non-commercial use. The ISM ROB Content shall also contain Content of users and other ISM licensors. Except as provided herein or as explicitly allowed in writing by ISM, you shall not copy, download, stream, capture, reproduce, duplicate, archive, upload, modify, translate, publish, broadcast, transmit, retransmit, distribute, perform, display, sell, or otherwise use any ISM ROB Content.

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ISM shall not have any liability, duty, or obligation for or relating to the ISM ROB Content or other information contained herein, any errors, inaccuracies, omissions or delays in providing any ISM ROB Content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. In no event shall ISM be liable for any special, incidental, or consequential damages, arising out of the use of the ISM ROB. Report On Business^®, PMI^®, NMI^®, Manufacturing PMI^®, Services PMI^®, and Hospital PMI^® are registered trademarks and trademarks of Institute for Supply Management^®. Institute for Supply Management^® and ISM^® are registered trademarks of Institute for Supply Management, Inc.

Institute for Supply Management^® (ISM^®) serves supply management professionals in more than 90 countries. Its 50,000 members around the world manage about US$1 trillion in corporate and government supply chain procurement annually. Founded in 1915 as the first supply management institute in the world, ISM is committed to advancing the practice of supply management to drive value and competitive advantage for its members, contributing to a prosperous and sustainable world. ISM^® leads the profession through the ISM^® Report On Business^®, its highly regarded certification programs and the ISM^® Advance^™ Digital Platform. The ISM^® Report On Business^® has been issued by the association since 1931, except for a four-year interruption during World War II.

The text version of the public Hospital ISM^® Report On Business^® is posted on ISM^®'s website at www.ismrob.org on the fifth business day* of every month at 10:00 a.m. ET.

The next Hospital ISM^® Report On Business^® featuring April 2022 data will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET on Friday, May 6, 2022.

*Unless the New York Stock Exchange is closed.

SOURCE Institute for Supply Management