Issues & Trends
American Hospital Association content on issues and trends in the health care field.
Hospital trustees sometimes question how they can determine a strategic future when so much in health care is changing and the future is seemingly unknown and unpredictable. But this is precisely the time when boards must be at their best. Forward-thinking, visionary boards…
In the 2017-2018 Public Company Governance Survey conducted by the National Association of Corporate Directors, 600 directors of publicly traded companies were asked what they consider the board’s priorities on behalf of the organizations they serve. Their top five:
Peter Boling, M.D., graduated from medical school almost 40 years ago, and his career has been driven by a single question.
“Is the hospital emergency room and the inpatient ward the best way to solve the problems of an immobile 80-year-old with complex multimorbid conditions who can't…
There are more people older than 60 alive today than at any other point in history. The United Nations estimates that by 2050 there will be twice as many people older than 60 as there were in 2015. In fact, by 2020, the global population of individuals 65 and older may outnumber children…
AHA launched Hospitals Against Violence, a board-initiated program that speaks to the mission-driven imperative of its members and the association: to address violence in our workplaces and communities so that a society of healthy communities, where all individuals reach their highest potential for…
Hospitals and health systems face an array of compounding pressures. Chief among these is a shift to population health and value-based care models that require health systems to not only continue to make investments in information technology, administration and care, but also take on…
The leaders of health systems must focus on a handful of crucial strategies to ensure optimal performance of their organization. There are no simple solutions to the complex problems facing health care providers. It is essential that boards and executives focus on what is important now and not…
Health care delivery and methods of paying for it will continue to evolve during 2018 in a changing economic, political, technological and demographic landscape. Digital and other technological tools are coming of age in an increasingly consumer-driven world, and health systems will…
Violence impacts every community in America, and no place — including hospitals and health systems — is immune. It affects our patients and their families, the members of our hospital family and the very fabric of our communities.