The growth in health care labor continues as again pointed out by Mike Mandel of Busienssweek. In the graph below I looked at non-seasonally adjusted growth within the three larger sub sectors of the health care provider market, and not to surprisingly that growth has been in the outpatient space. There can be many reasons for this shift and specific evidence is not all that clear, but permit me a guess. The outpatient health care provider environment is far less regulated than are hospitals. Operators of these facilities which include outpatient surgery centers, diagnostic centers and clinics, are far less encumbered by certifications and regulations of dubious value. Tasks and procedures performed by licensed personnel can be more easily performed by lesser trained individuals under supervision of licensed practitioners. In the end, patients get faster care, at a lower cost.
