Contents

Features

 

8 Cover story

What Rural Hospitals Need

to Know About MACRA

The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 — MACRA — changes the reimbursement system for physicians. Hospital leaders should understand which of their clinicians are affected and what they need to do to get properly reimbursed under the new program.

 

13 Strategy

Bucking the System

At some hospitals, trustees have a passionate desire for local control and independence. That can be challenging in this day and age. Here are seven strategies that boards and executives should consider if their goal is to avoid a merger. | David Miller

 

16 The Year Ahead

10 Trends for 2017

Hospital and health system boards need to focus on health care delivery transformation. Much of the change is driven by employers, insurers and health care consumers, but public policy is also a major factor. With leadership changes in Washington, trustees need to keep their stay alert. | Laura P. Jacobs

 

Departments

 

2 From the Editor

Who wouldn’t want to go to warm and sunny Phoenix in February? For certain hospital board members, the annual Rural Health Care Leadership offers the perfect excuse.

 

3 Update

A report from the American Hospital Association offers nine ways to improve access to health care services in vulnerable communities.

 

Leadership

6 Practical Matters

The most crucial time in an organization’s life is the transition from one CEO to the next. The board needs to have a solid plan in place.

 

Funding

20 Trustee Workbook

Progressive health care organizations are reinventing their foundation boards as they look to philanthropy to secure sustainability, enable excellence and achieve market objectives.

 

Strategy

24 Viewpoint

Switching over to a hospital legacy foundation doesn’t have to be jam-packed with surprises. Here are some things to avoid and several important steps to take that will lead to success.

 

On-boarding

26 Voices from the Field

For new trustees, a routine briefing about the organization is far from adequate. What they really need to be successful from the get-go is a dynamic and interactive orientation.

 

Data

28 Dashboard

The light and noise emitted by electronic devices interrupt kids’ sleep • Smoking continues to decline among young Americans • Soccer-related injuries that lead to the emergency department climbed 78% from 1990 to 2014