Barclays Analyst Sees Sick Shifting From Hospitals To Outpatient Clinics

A shift to outpatient facilities from hospitals will continue to accelerate under healthcare reform and favor companies well-positioned for the switch, an analyst said Thursday.

"We're seeing a clear movement to outpatient services," Barclay's Joshua Raskin said, calling 2014 "the biggest shift in healthcare since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965."

As investments in the sector, Raskin favors surgery center operators, or alternately, companies "further along in developing an outpatient strategy that can retain potential out-migration from their acute care facilities."

Raskin's top pick: HCA Holdings Inc (NYSE: HCA). The company has 165 hospitals and 115 surgery centers in the U.S. and U.K.

Also in the hospitals segment, Raskin likes Tenet Healthcare Corp (NYSE: THC), which operates 77 hospitals, 173 outpatient centers and five health plans.

Among healthcare staffers, Raskin names Team Health Holdings LLC (NYSE: TMH). The company provides staffing to 730 civilian and military hospitals, clinics and physician groups.

Raskin also favors Surgical Care Affiliates Inc (NASDAQ: SCAI), which operates 185 surgical facilities, including outpatient surgery centers and hospital surgery departments.