Contract management requires strategic planning.

: Contract management is more than just an alternative form of financing. Contract management enables hospitals to avoid costly investments in time, personnel, and capital by using outside sources to provide clinical and support services. However, healthcare organizations that contract for a large number of services run the risk of becoming "hollow hospitals"--institutions where patient care is no longer the hospital's core activity. Hospitals can avoid this situation by carefully reviewing the advantages and risks of contract management in terms of their mission, quality, and organizational objectives.