Delivery System Transformation

Rural health care boards and executives are transforming their organizations for a new world of accountable care marked by changing payment models, heightened expectations for physician alignment and greater need for collaboration. The 2016 Rural Health Care Leadership Conference Feb. 7–10 in…
Consistently high-performing health systems and hospitals share a common trait. Their leadership teams are exceptionally humble. Regardless of the organization’s many accomplishments, including local, state and national awards, their board members, senior executives and…
Health care governance education transformed immeasurably for the better during my 36-year career with the Arkansas Hospital Association. Almost four decades ago, board members were chosen for their prominence in the community. They met and enjoyed a nice lunch or dinner on the third Thursday of…
The headline on this month’s cover story can be taken in a couple of ways, but there’s one important way you as a board member should not take it. As the article makes clear, experience matters when it comes to running a hospital. A thorough understanding of health…
The U.S. health care field is moving in a new direction — toward population health. The alignment of expanded access to care with the adoption of value-based reimbursement models has primed health care for unprecedented transformation. Succeeding in this new environment…
Recognizing the importance of social media is the first step in taking your hospital into the digital world. Understanding the value and the potential of this medium can help to leverage your community benefit programs and patient engagement in a way never possible before the advent of the Internet.
Hospitals are making greater use of new technologies to improve emergency department throughput. Digital registration kiosks and bedside registration systems streamline the process, allowing patients to be treated more quickly. Electronic patient tracking boards can reduce wait times and improve…
Penny Wheeler, M.D., was barely into her tenure as CEO of Allina Health and fresh from a transition period earlier this year with retiring CEO Kenneth Paulus when the topic turned to who might replace her.
Half of the nation’s primary care physicians say the increased use of quality-of-care metrics to assess provider performance is having a negative impact on patient care, according to a survey report from The Commonwealth Fund and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Twenty-two percent see quality metrics…
Many large employers plan to keep health care coverage cost increases to 5 percent for the third consecutive year by making plan changes, adopting consumer-directed health plans and expanding wellness initiatives, according to the National Business Group on Health.