In today’s complex and shifting healthcare landscape, hospital systems are not just care providers—they’re complex ecosystems of influence, decision-making, and strategic alignment.¹ For life sciences account managers, the ability to navigate this environment with confidence and clarity is not optional; it is a business-critical skill. Understanding how hospitals function (from their structure and classification to their stakeholder ecosystem) is essential for driving relevant, strategic conversations.
The complexity of hospital systems
Hospital systems can vary widely in size, scope, and organizational structure.² Some operate as independent community hospitals, while others are part of large, integrated delivery networks (IDNs) that include facilities such as outpatient clinics, imaging centers, physician groups, ambulatory surgery centers, and specialty care centers.³˒⁴ This variation creates both opportunities and challenges for account teams trying to navigate decision-making pathways.
At the foundational level, hospitals can be categorized by²˒⁴˒⁵:
Ownership: Public/governmental, private nonprofit, or for-profit.
Affiliation: Independent vs. part of academic medical centers or larger health systems.
Level of care: Primary, secondary, tertiary.
Each type shapes priorities, decision-making structures, and stakeholder dynamics, as well as funding, staffing, and procurement decisions—all crucial considerations for anyone seeking to engage with hospital stakeholders.⁴˒⁶˒⁷
Inpatient vs. outpatient services
Historically, hospitals are focused on inpatient care—patients admitted for overnight stays or longer.⁸ However, as healthcare delivery evolves, there is a growing emphasis on outpatient care.⁹ Account managers need to understand where their product or service fits within this shift, as procurement processes, budgets, and decision-makers may differ significantly between inpatient and outpatient settings.⁴˒⁷
Training programs for account teams must incorporate this nuance. When reps understand the growing complexity of care settings, they can better anticipate customer needs, position solutions more effectively, and align with broader institutional priorities like reducing length of stay or preventing hospital readmissions.¹⁰˒¹¹
Hospital structure as a strategic sales insight
Too often, sales training focuses on product knowledge and basic call planning. While these are essential, they fall short without a strategic understanding of hospital operations. At OCTANE, we help commercial teams learn how to interpret the type and structure of a hospital as a strategic input—one that informs how to prioritize accounts, frame value, and identify the right points of entry.
Mapping influence: The stakeholder web inside hospitals
One of the most common challenges we hear from life sciences account managers is, “Who’s the real decision-maker here?” That’s because hospitals don’t function with a single buyer. They operate through a matrix of stakeholders, including¹²:
Executives/C-suite
Physician/clinical leaders
Purchasing, procurement, supply chain management
Pharmacy, lab, and IT teams
Account teams must be trained not only to identify these players but to speak their language, address their unique concerns, and sequence conversations strategically. This is where high-performing teams set themselves apart.
Why this knowledge transforms sales outcomes
When account managers understand the flow of influence, decision-making, and operations within a hospital or system, they shift from being vendors to being strategic partners. They ask better questions. They tailor their messaging to what matters most. They recognize and respect the interconnectedness between departments.
This is what modern sales enablement must deliver: not just tactical skills, but strategic fluency.
Fuel for thought
At OCTANE, we believe that empowering life sciences teams with a deep, actionable understanding of hospital systems is foundational to commercial excellence. It’s not about making the sale—it’s about making the right sale, to the right people, in a way that builds lasting trust and impact.
As a training partner for many life sciences organizations, we’ve seen firsthand how understanding hospital systems transforms the effectiveness of customer-facing teams. It's not just about knowing where to go but knowing how the system works, who matters, and how to engage in ways that are relevant, credible, and value driven.
Explore other topics in our hospital series
References
Bhati D, Deograde MS, Kanyal D. Improving patient outcomes through effective hospital administration: A comprehensive review. Cureus. 2023.
American Hospital Association. Fast facts on U.S. hospitals, 2025. Updated 2025. Accessed May 2025.
Definitive Healthcare. Integrated delivery network (IDN). Updated 2025. Accessed May 2025.
Kaiser Family Foundation. Key facts about hospitals. Updated 2025. Accessed May 2025.
Definitive Healthcare. Primary care. Updated 2025. Accessed May 2025.
Whaley C, Bartlett M, Bai G. Financial performance gaps between critical access hospitals and other acute care hospitals. JAMA Health Forum. 2024.
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. Hospital inpatient and outpatient services. Updated 2020. Accessed May 2025.
Cigna Healthcare. What is inpatient vs. outpatient care? Updated 2025. Accessed May 2025.
McKinsey & Company. The next frontier of healthcare delivery. Updated 2022. Accessed May 2025.
Dhaliwal JS, AK D. Reducing hospital readmissions. In. StatPearls. Treasure Island, Florida: StatPearls Publishing; 2025.
Keach JW, Prandi-Abrams M, Sabel AS, Hasnain-Wynia R, Mroch JM, TD M. Reducing hospital length of stay: A multimodal proscpective quality improvement intervention. J on Quality and Patient Safety. 2025;51(5).
Definitive Healthcare. Healthcare purchasing: Key opinion leaders vs. decision-makers. Updated 2024. Accessed May 2025.
