SWOT Analysis in Healthcare: Hospital Example, TOWS Matrix and Questions
How to run a SWOT analysis in healthcare: guiding questions, a hospital SWOT example, and how to turn it into strategy with a TOWS matrix.
In this article
- SWOT in healthcare at a glance
- What is a SWOT analysis in healthcare?
- Questions to ask for each quadrant
- SWOT analysis for a hospital: example
- From SWOT to strategy: the TOWS matrix
- SWOT, PESTEL and Five Forces: which comes first?
- A 90-minute SWOT workshop agenda
- Tips for a SWOT that leads to decisions
- Go further with healthcare strategy tools
- SWOT analysis in healthcare FAQ
- Sources (checked 23 Oct 2026)
A SWOT analysis in healthcare looks at an organization's internal strengths and weaknesses and its external opportunities and threats. Hospitals, clinics and departments use it at the start of strategic planning. This guide gives you the questions to ask, a worked hospital example, and the step most teams skip: turning the SWOT into decisions with a TOWS matrix.
SWOT in healthcare at a glance
| Helpful | Harmful | |
|---|---|---|
| Internal (you control) | Strengths | Weaknesses |
| External (you don't control) | Opportunities | Threats |
- Best used for: a hospital, a service line or a department, at the start of a planning cycle or before a major decision.
- Time needed: one or two workshops, plus data preparation.
- Output: a short matrix and 4–8 strategic options from the TOWS step.
What is a SWOT analysis in healthcare?
SWOT is a simple structure for strategic thinking. The internal half (strengths and weaknesses) covers what the organization controls: staff, services, outcomes, facilities, finances and reputation. The external half (opportunities and threats) covers what it does not: regulation, competitors, insurers, population needs and technology.
StatPearls notes that SWOT's clinical relevance is mainly at the organizational level, such as hospitals and clinical offices, and also lists its weaknesses: it can be superficial if done without critical discussion, it reflects a single point in time, and teams sometimes focus on one quadrant and ignore the rest.
Questions to ask for each quadrant
Strengths
- Which services do we deliver with better outcomes, speed or cost than others nearby?
- What do patients and referring doctors praise most?
- Which skills, accreditations or equipment are hard for competitors to copy?
Weaknesses
- Where do patients wait longest or leave for other providers?
- Which services lose money or miss quality targets?
- Where are we short of staff, space or equipment?
Opportunities
- Which population or insurance changes increase demand for what we do well?
- Are there regulatory or policy changes we can benefit from?
- Can partnerships, digital services or new locations reach more patients?
Threats
- Which competitors are expanding or opening new services?
- Are new technologies or care models drawing patients away?
- Could cash-flow problems, staff shortages or a weakness put patient safety at risk?
SWOT analysis for a hospital: example
Illustrative example for a fictional 200-bed general hospital considering how to grow its outpatient business.
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Experienced internal medicine and cardiology specialists | Outpatient waiting times of 3–4 weeks |
| Good inpatient patient-experience scores | No online booking or telemedicine |
| Accredited laboratory with fast turnaround | High readmission rate for heart failure |
| Opportunities | Threats |
| Growing number of patients with chronic disease | New private clinic chain opening two branches nearby |
| Insurers paying for chronic-disease management programs | Shortage of experienced nurses |
| Patients expect digital follow-up | Price pressure from insurers |
From SWOT to strategy: the TOWS matrix
A SWOT on its own is a description. Heinz Weihrich's TOWS matrix (1982) turns it into options by pairing the quadrants:
| Strengths | Weaknesses | |
|---|---|---|
| Opportunities | SO — use strengths to seize opportunities: launch a specialist-led chronic-disease clinic (cardiology and diabetes) for insured patients. | WO — fix weaknesses through opportunities: introduce online booking and telemedicine follow-up as part of the insurer program. |
| Threats | ST — use strengths against threats: market the accredited lab and specialist access as a difference the new clinic chain cannot match. | WT — reduce weaknesses and avoid threats: a nurse-led heart-failure discharge program to cut readmissions without adding doctors. |
In this example, the SO and WO options combine into one priority, a chronic-disease outpatient program with digital follow-up, which then gets objectives, an owner and KPIs in the strategic plan. See how this fits into the full cycle in our guide to how to write a hospital strategic plan.
Learn SWOT and TOWS with healthcare cases. Module 3 of the Healthcare Strategic Management Diploma covers strengths, weaknesses, core competencies, the value chain and the TOWS matrix, applied to hospitals. Watch 2 free lessons →
SWOT, PESTEL and Five Forces: which comes first?
SWOT works best as a summary of deeper analysis, not a replacement for it:
| Tool | What it covers | Feeds into SWOT as |
|---|---|---|
| PESTEL | Political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal trends | Opportunities and threats |
| Porter's Five Forces | Competition, new entrants, substitutes, payer and supplier power | Opportunities and threats |
| Value chain and internal data | Activities, resources, outcomes, finances | Strengths and weaknesses |
Run PESTEL and Five Forces first, collect internal data, then summarize everything in the SWOT.
A 90-minute SWOT workshop agenda
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 0–10 min | Purpose, scope (hospital, service line or department) and ground rules |
| 10–25 min | Review the data pack: volumes, outcomes, waiting times, finances, PESTEL summary |
| 25–50 min | Silent brainstorming on sticky notes for each quadrant, then group and remove duplicates |
| 50–65 min | Vote on the top 3–4 items per quadrant |
| 65–85 min | Build the TOWS matrix: one or two options per cell |
| 85–90 min | Agree owners to develop the shortlisted options for the strategic plan |
Tips for a SWOT that leads to decisions
- Bring data. Volumes, outcomes, waiting times and finances turn opinions into evidence.
- Invite the right people. Include clinicians, nursing, finance and quality, not only senior managers.
- Be specific. "Good staff" is not a strength; "two of three interventional cardiologists in the city" is.
- Keep internal and external apart. A new competitor is a threat, not a weakness.
- Always finish with TOWS. The goal is a short list of options, not a full matrix.
- Date it. A SWOT is a snapshot; repeat it every planning cycle.
Go further with healthcare strategy tools
SWOT and TOWS are one module of a wider toolkit. Our strategic management course for doctors page explains how clinicians moving into leadership use the Healthcare Strategic Management Diploma to apply SWOT, PESTEL, portfolio matrices and the Balanced Scorecard to real decisions.
SWOT analysis in healthcare FAQ
What is an example of a strength in a hospital SWOT?
A specific, hard-to-copy advantage, such as a specialist team, an accreditation, better outcomes in one service or a unique piece of equipment.
Is a new competitor a weakness or a threat?
A threat. Weaknesses are internal and within your control; competitors are external.
What is the difference between SWOT and TOWS?
SWOT lists the four factors. TOWS pairs them (SO, WO, ST, WT) to produce strategic options.
Can a single department do a SWOT analysis?
Yes. Departments and service lines often run their own SWOT, which then feeds the hospital-wide plan.
Where can I learn SWOT analysis for healthcare organizations?
The healthcare strategic management course on Medicova teaches SWOT and TOWS alongside PESTEL, Porter's Five Forces and the Balanced Scorecard, all with healthcare examples.
How often should a healthcare organization update its SWOT?
At least once a year as part of the planning cycle, and before any major decision such as opening a new service.
Sources (checked 23 Oct 2026)
- Teoli D, Sanvictores T, An J. SWOT Analysis. StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf, updated 4 Sep 2023. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Weihrich H. The TOWS matrix — a tool for situational analysis. Long Range Planning, 1982;15(2):54–66.
#SWOT#Strategic planning#Hospital management
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