Healthcare Insights
Top hospitals by medical and linen supply costs
Supply chain costs account for a large portion of hospital expenses, averaging about 14% of total hospital operating expenses. These costs include not only necessary medical and surgical supplies, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and personal protective equipment (PPE), but also purchased services like food preparation or laundry and linens.
Supply costs are impacted by external factors like rising pharmaceutical prices, as well as internal expenses like physician preference items (PPIs). Though PPI spending and medical supply expenses are more discretionary than other hospital expenses, supply chain spending has been on an upward trend since at least 2014. According to data from the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product, total supply expenses at U.S. hospitals increase by about 5% each year.
Below, we've compiled lists of the top 25 hospitals by medical and surgical supply costs and the top 25 hospitals by laundry and linen expenditures. These metrics are updated annually from Medicare Cost Report data.
Top 25 hospitals by total medical and surgical supply costs
| Rank | Definitive ID | Hospital name | Location | Total med/surg supply costs | Supply expense as % of operating expense | Explore dataset |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2843 | Tisch Hospital | New York, NY | $1,194,325,988 | 18.10% | Explore |
| 2 | 2096 | University Hospital | Ann Arbor, MI | $1,125,022,180 | 28.20% | Explore |
| 3 | 588 | Stanford Hospital | Stanford, CA | $1,061,485,703 | 20.20% | Explore |
| 4 | 4017 | University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center | Houston, TX | $950,960,970 | 23.40% | Explore |
| 5 | 541974 | NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center | New York, NY | $887,239,953 | 12.30% | Explore |
| 6 | 3120 | Cleveland Clinic Main Campus | Cleveland, OH | $874,387,822 | 14.00% | Explore |
| 7 | 274110 | UK Albert B Chandler Hospital | Lexington, KY | $850,165,988 | 40.50% | Explore |
| 8 | 1365 | IU Health Methodist Hospital | Indianapolis, IN | $832,537,693 | 21.50% | Explore |
| 9 | 2973 | Duke University Hospital | Durham, NC | $793,288,585 | 29.70% | Explore |
| 10 | 3015 | UNC Medical Center | Chapel Hill, NC | $776,915,147 | 36.30% | Explore |
| 11 | 550 | UC San Diego Medical Center | San Diego, CA | $738,938,829 | 28.90% | Explore |
| 12 | 873 | AdventHealth Orlando | Orlando, FL | $733,183,190 | 18.50% | Explore |
| 13 | 1000 | Northside Hospital Atlanta | Atlanta, GA | $718,927,133 | 27.20% | Explore |
| 14 | 872 | Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center | Orlando, FL | $715,021,853 | 32.60% | Explore |
| 15 | 851 | Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center | Miami, FL | $682,200,473 | 39.80% | Explore |
| 16 | 731 | Yale New Haven Hospital | New Haven, CT | $663,855,737 | 18.40% | Explore |
| 17 | 1978 | Dana Farber Cancer Institute | Boston, MA | $659,801,598 | 29.80% | Explore |
| 18 | 3742 | Vanderbilt University Medical Center | Nashville, TN | $648,822,423 | 12.10% | Explore |
| 19 | 1678 | Norton Hospital | Louisville, KY | $620,871,038 | 30.90% | Explore |
| 20 | 1631 | The University of Kansas Hospital | Kansas City, KS | $614,296,976 | 21.40% | Explore |
| 21 | 1973 | Massachusetts General Hospital | Boston, MA | $612,123,063 | 12.90% | Explore |
| 22 | 3421 | OHSU Hospital - Portland | Portland, OR | $611,593,102 | 28.20% | Explore |
| 23 | 2976 | Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center | Winston Salem, NC | $606,946,198 | 29.90% | Explore |
| 24 | 560 | UCSF Helen Diller Medical Center at Parnassus Heights | San Francisco, CA | $599,676,163 | 13.10% | Explore |
| 25 | 2818 | Strong Memorial Hospital | Rochester, NY | $581,918,912 | 23.50% | Explore |
Fig. 1 Data is from the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product and sourced from the Medicare Cost Report. Data accurate as of July 2022.
Which hospital has the highest total medical and surgical supply costs?
Tisch Hospital in New York City has the current highest hospital medical supply costs among U.S. hospitals at nearly $1.2 billion. The hospital’s medical supplies account for 18% of the hospital’s total operating expense.
Many of the hospitals on the list are among the top hospitals by net patient revenue and include academic medical centers and cancer centers.
The average total medical and surgical supply expense for these hospitals is $766 million, or about 25% of total operating expenses. However, supply expense as a percentage of total hospital operating expense ranges from 12% to more than 40% at these facilities.
How much does a hospital spend on supplies?
The average total medical supply expense for 5,660 hospitals in HospitalView is $37 million. Since 2016, average hospital supply expenses increased from about $25 million.
What is included in total hospital supply costs?
Total hospital supply costs include:
- Medical/surgical supply costs
- Medical devices
- Implantable devices
- Drugs charged to patients
It also includes overhead costs such as:
- Buildings and fixtures
- Maintenance
- Operation of plant
Top 25 hospitals by laundry and linen expenditures
| Rank | Definitive ID | Hospital name | Location | Laundry and linen service costs | Total operating expenses | Explore dataset |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 541974 | NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center | New York, NY | $14,938,884 | $7,240,896,211 | Explore |
| 2 | 2973 | Duke University Hospital | Durham, NC | $12,393,008 | $2,672,551,167 | Explore |
| 3 | 2843 | Tisch Hospital | New York, NY | $9,621,747 | $6,589,073,756 | Explore |
| 4 | 273024 | Montefiore Hospital - Moses Campus | Bronx, NY | $8,853,845 | $4,346,224,000 | Explore |
| 5 | 560 | UCSF Helen Diller Medical Center at Parnassus Heights | San Francisco, CA | $7,856,280 | $4,575,166,953 | Explore |
| 6 | 430 | Cedars-Sinai Medical Center | Los Angeles, CA | $7,817,976 | $3,609,143,674 | Explore |
| 7 | 476 | LAC & USC Medical Center | Los Angeles, CA | $7,454,300 | $1,942,259,632 | Explore |
| 8 | 718 | Hartford Hospital | Hartford, CT | $7,143,779 | $1,824,344,024 | Explore |
| 9 | 873 | AdventHealth Orlando (FKA Florida Hospital Orlando) | Orlando, FL | $6,862,343 | $3,960,690,702 | Explore |
| 10 | 2976 | Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center | Winston Salem, NC | $6,703,964 | $2,031,516,522 | Explore |
| 11 | 3603 | Rhode Island Hospital | Providence, RI | $6,635,077 | $1,680,513,298 | Explore |
| 12 | 756 | UF Health Shands Hospital (FKA Shands at the University of Florida) | Gainesville, FL | $6,535,447 | $1,745,366,986 | Explore |
| 13 | 395 | Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center | Los Angeles, CA | $6,500,118 | $2,231,161,832 | Explore |
| 14 | 1772 | Ochsner Medical Center - Main Campus | New Orleans, LA | $6,444,429 | $1,935,025,818 | Explore |
| 15 | 4018 | Memorial Hermann - Texas Medical Center | Houston, TX | $6,312,436 | $2,076,993,632 | Explore |
| 16 | 3862 | Methodist Hospital | San Antonio, TX | $6,177,265 | $1,537,440,683 | Explore |
| 17 | 1970 | Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center | Boston, MA | $5,957,803 | $1,982,122,409 | Explore |
| 18 | 814 | St Josephs Hospital | Tampa, FL | $5,894,212 | $1,175,294,512 | Explore |
| 19 | 519 | Loma Linda University Medical Center | Loma Linda, CA | $5,784,547 | $1,372,989,699 | Explore |
| 20 | 4534 | Aurora St Lukes Medical Center of Aurora Health Care Metro | Milwaukee, WI | $5,766,627 | $1,548,591,438 | Explore |
| 21 | 996 | Grady Health System (AKA Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation) | Atlanta, GA | $5,322,348 | $1,394,730,484 | Explore |
| 22 | 845 | Jackson Memorial Hospital | Miami, FL | $5,309,403 | $2,312,392,215 | Explore |
| 23 | 81 | Huntsville Hospital | Huntsville, AL | $5,303,087 | $1,104,326,328 | Explore |
| 24 | 2828 | Long Island Jewish Medical Center | New Hyde Park, NY | $5,250,219 | $3,160,716,052 | Explore |
| 25 | 4529 | Froedtert Hospital | Milwaukee, WI | $5,140,581 | $1,932,341,837 | Explore |
Fig. 2 Data is from the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product and sourced from the Medicare Cost Report. Data accurate as of July 2022.
Which U.S. hospital has the highest total linen costs?
New York/Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center had the highest total linen costs with a reported total of nearly $15 million. This is a top hospital in New York and a leading academic medical center.
Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina had laundry and linen costs that are more than $12 million. The 25 hospitals on this list had an average laundry and linen service expense of $7.1 million.
How much does a hospital spend on laundry and linens?
The average cost for hospital laundry and medical linen services is about $489,000, based on 4,855 hospitals with this figure reported in HospitalView.
What is included in laundry and linen costs?
The laundry and linen cost center metric represents the cost of routine hospital laundry and linen services whether performed in-house or by outside contractors.
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