Columbia/HCA is one of the largest healthcare services companies in the United States. Founded in 1987, the company sought to provide one-stop shopping for managed care providers. In 1996, Columbia/HCA managed 314 hospitals, approximately 7 percent of hospitals in the United States. The company also conducts operations in the United Kingdom, Spain, and Switzerland, and recorded more than 40 million patient visits in 1996. Environmental factors affecting the healthcare industryAccess to healthcare is not a legal right in the United States as it is in Europe, Canada and most other industrialized nations. In the rest of the world, access to healthcare is a right for all citizens paid for either by social insurance funds with member and employer contributions or from tax funding. The cost of health insurance and medical care has ballooned; therefore, increasing numbers of individuals have been forced to forego medical care because they could not afford health insurance, or the expense of uninsured medical care. In 1992, there was an estimated 36 million U.S. residents without health care insurance.The predominant demographic issue affecting the healthcare industry in 1997 was the aging of the population. However, culturally, increased emphasis is being placed on healthy lifestyle choices, including both healthy eating and exercising. Politically, President Clintons health care reform proposal is an issue of growing concern. The proposal was criticized as being too sweeping and complex in nature, resulting in its failure. The health sectors share of the U.S. economy has reached approximately 14 percent of the gross domestic product in 1992, and it is predicted to reach 19 percent by the year 2000.Dominant industry traitsThe healthcare industry is regulated heavily by the states, the federal government, and municipalities. There are fragmented groups within the health care industry, each of which serve a different need concerning...
