Hospital drug expenses soar nearly 10% – Becker’s Hospital Review | Healthcare News

Drug expenses for hospitals continue to soar as inflation, tariffs and more hit the pharmaceutical industry, according to Strata’s “Monthly Healthcare Industry Financial Benchmarks.”

The healthcare data firm surveyed leaders from more than 1,850 hospitals across the U.S. to compile financial information and trends. In June, drug expenses increased almost 10% over the same period last year. The impact of increasing drug expenses varied by region; hospitals in the Northeast reported 17.7% drug expense increases while the West reported a 14.7% jump.

Drug expenses growth is now outpacing labor and purchased service expenses. Average labor expenses increased 3.8% year over year while purchased services were up nearly 7%.

Despite the high year over year growth, average drug expenses dropped 4.8% nationwide from May to June. Patient volume in all visit types decreased month to month as well. After adjusting for patient volumes, the total expense per adjusted discharge increased 2.1%, with non-labor expenses up 3.1% year over year.