By Brad Boyd
After seeing an improvement in financial performance in 2024, the healthcare industry is ready to accelerate growth this year, pivoting towards new investments that could reshape patient care. According to BDO’s 2025 Healthcare CFO Outlook Survey, which surveyed 100 healthcare CFOs after the presidential election in November 2024, providers are exploring opportunities around growth and expansion, technological innovation, and new service offerings, as they shift from defense to offense in 2025.
Based on our findings from the survey, here are the top three takeaways healthcare leaders should know to stay ahead in 2025:
- 84% of healthcare organizations saw revenue growth, but low profitability highlights the need for cost containment.
The financial health of the industry has shown marked improvement heading into 2025: Just 11% of healthcare organizations reported they violated their debt covenants in the past year, down from 52% in 2023.
At the same time, 84% of healthcare CFOs report revenue increases over the past year, but just 43% report profitability increases — indicating that there’s still room for financial improvement in 2025. This disparity underscores the complex balance healthcare organizations must strike between revenue generation and cost management.
The road ahead remains challenging, particularly for rural providers. Despite overall sector improvements, cash reserves remain below pre-pandemic levels, creating ongoing liquidity concerns, and under-resourced providers continue to struggle with maintaining financial stability. Moving forward, healthcare CFOs should prioritize initiatives that help shore up their financial foundations and improve liquidity.
- Healthcare organizations are using artificial intelligence (AI) not just for administrative and back-office functions, but for enhancing patient care.
Current adoption rates show a significant commitment to AI-driven healthcare delivery, with 50% of organizations already leveraging AI for treatment plan generation and 49% for diagnostics and medical imaging. In 2025, an additional 42% of organizations plan to implement AI for treatment plan generation, and 48% say the same for diagnostics and medical imaging.
However, with proposed changes to the HIPAA Security Rule looming, healthcare organizations face mounting pressures to keep patient data safe as AI can increase a provider’s risk landscape. In response, 36% of organizations are enhancing cybersecurity measures and 29% are implementing risk monitoring and intelligence tools.
As healthcare organizations continue to adopt AI solutions for patient care, they need to prioritize investments strengthening their security environment. Otherwise, they could fall victim to a costly data breach.
- Healthcare CFOs are investing in site-of-care transitions, including home health, telehealth/virtual health, and lifestyle/longevity centers.
Healthcare CFOs are strategically redirecting investments in 2025 toward differentiated care delivery models, marking a significant shift in patient access. The landscape reveals a strong push towards alternative care sites, with:
- 48% of CFOs increasing investment in home care services
- 45% increasing investment in telehealth and virtual health services
- 45% increasing investment in lifestyle and longevity centers
This pivot aims to enhance patient access and convenience while creating new revenue streams for providers. By meeting patients where they are, organizations are building a more patient-centric care model that aligns with individuals’ needs.
While the expansion of alternative care sites represents important progress in healthcare accessibility, organizations should proceed with caution. These delivery models should complement — not replace — traditional primary care services, which are both critical to improving patient outcomes and act as feeder services to specialty care, making primary care a crucial source of revenue.
As providers continue to explore alternative sites of care, they should work to strike the right balance between innovation in care delivery and maintaining robust access to primary care for their patients.
What’s Next?
Healthcare organizations are seeing a wealth of new opportunities to grow, driven by technological advances, a shifting economic landscape, and evolving patient demand. While new opportunities in areas like AI and site-of-care transitions may help providers meet their growth goals, healthcare CFOs must stay vigilant of the evolving risk landscape to maintain financial stability and continue offering high-quality patient care.
Brad Boyd, Principal and National Co-Leader, The BDO Center for Healthcare Excellence & Innovation, can be reached at brad.boyd@bdo.com.
Contact:
Sabina Kotelnik, Assurance Principal
(954) 989-7462 / skotelnik@bdo.com
