Predicting financial distress in teaching hospitals.

Despite the prestige and reputation of teaching hospitals, as a group they are in financial distress. If this trend continues, one would expect to see a higher incidence of mergers and acquisitions or divestitures of assets and services, and other strategies designed to combat failing businesses. Nearly one out of every six teaching hospitals sampled was predicted to be near immediate bankruptcy, and the overwhelming majority was not far behind. It will take a significant effort for these hospitals to continue to treat their operations as a clinical and research "business," but they must do just that if they are to survive the continually turbulent market.