2015 Brings Provocative New Voices

Welcome to the new year, which will be just as exciting — if not more so — than last year. To fortify you and your board colleagues for the challenges ahead, we have added a feature to the magazine called the New Marketplace. It is designed to guide boards in responding to the changes in the care delivery system and developing the agility to thrive in the future. Each month, one of three well-known thought leaders will share an informed, provocative take on the industry. First up is Joe Flower, whose powerful article on the failure of electronic health records appears on Page 29. Flower has been writing, speaking and consulting on making health care “better, faster and cheaper” (his words) for three decades. He has long been a champion of health information technology adoption, but only if it helps physicians and nurses deliver better care.

In February, look for writing from Paul Keckley, the managing director of the Navigant Center for Healthcare Research and Policy Analysis. Previously the executive director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, Keckley and his team helped to facilitate conversations between the private sector and lawmakers during the development of the Affordable Care Act. He draws on a range of data in making his observations, and he doesn’t hold back when it comes to board accountability.

Our third new contributor is Ian Morrison, a futurist, consultant and author who specializes in long-term forecasting in health care and business. Morrison turns deep research into engaging, and occasionally hilarious, reading. If the volume-to-value journey in your organization is described in terms of a first and second curve, Morrison is the one to thank, having coined the terms in 1996 to describe a model of change.

Each of these thinkers’ unique perspectives will prompt lively discussions in the boardroom. Let me know what you think at jjeffries@healthforum.com.