Industry Insights

Health systems are increasingly stepping outside of their walls to address the social, economic, and environmental factors that contribute to poor health outcomes, shortened lives, and higher costs. Our speaker, David Zuckerman, manager for healthcare engagement at The Democracy Collaborative, shares how this increasing recognition is leading a growing number of health systems to adopt inclusive, economic development strategies to improve health and well-being for low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. This webinar provides an overview of the Hospitals Aligned for Healthy Communities toolkit series, which aims to accelerate this new model in healthcare and help health systems integrate community health principles into three distinct business functions: (1) inclusive, local hiring and workforce development, (2) local and diverse sourcing; and (3) leveraging their long-term investment portfolios for place-based investment.

Assembling and retaining the best leadership and clinical team is more difficult than ever for healthcare systems and large independent practices.Shifting reimbursement methods, changing attitudes, new technologies and a change in the country’s leadership have senior management and boards searching for motivational tools to produce a new blend of productivity, value and profitability. Chaos creates opportunity, and while the unknown is just that, the need to recruit, retain and reward the right physicians and the best executives remains. 

This webinar will visit the front lines of this battle and share helpful observations and potential solutions. Our speakers are Barry N. Koslow, JD, Managing Director and CEO of MKA Executive Planners and Dennis M. Sexton, Senior Vice President of MKA.

Since 1978, the Massachusetts Health Data Consortium (MHDC) has convened health industry leadership across the Commonwealth to solve shared information and technology challenges.  While convening these participants remains an essential service, the very nature of “convening” has changed dramatically. Webinar technology and on-line social and professional networks have lowered the costs and barriers to collaboration among groups of shared interest while raising the stakes for compelling content and tangible benefits. Harnessing these and other technologies to advance member value is essential to sustaining and growing member engagement in a post-modern economy. Our speaker, Denny Brennan, is MHDC’s Executive Director and CEO of the Massachusetts Health Data Consortium (MHDC).

Nonprofit hospitals must perform a community health needs assessment (CHNA) and implement strategies to meet identified needs to maintain their federal tax-exempt status. How much are hospitals doing to meet new and expanded requirements? Join us for this Webinar where our speaker, Geri Rosen Cramer, will discuss her research analyzing data on more than 1500 tax-exempt hospitals to assess patterns in CHNA implementation and to identify which institutional and community characteristics may affect a hospital’s progress on community benefits.

The value of community-based resources for the effective prevention and management of disease has been recognized by physicians and health care systems alike. This webinar will feature details on the CommunityRx system, a population health innovation that combined an e-prescribing model and community engagement on the South Side of Chicago. Dr. Lindau will share insights from her recently published Health Affairs article “CommunityRx: A Population Health Improvement Innovation That Connects Clinics to Communities” demonstrating the feasibility of using health IT and workforce innovation to bridge the gap between clinical and other health-promoting sectors.  

Behavioral healthcare/substance abuse care is becoming more visible and more highly integrated into care delivered by hospitals and other healthcare organizations. Easier said than done—multiple issues arise when trying to operationalize this integration, including restructuring inpatient, ambulatory and emergency care delivery, the shortage of qualified providers, and the increased need for substance abuse services fueled by the opioid epidemic.  

What are Pay for Success initiatives and what is their track record in health? This Webinar will discuss Pay for Success initiatives (also known as social impact bonds) that have been launched to date in the United States.  This presentation will also include examples of these initiatives and what has been learned from them about the potential and key challenges of using this model of funding for population health improvement.

Participatory medicine is a movement in which activated, empowered patients engage as drivers of their health, and in which providers encourage and collaborate with them as full partners in their care. This Webinar discusses successful initiatives to realize the benefits of this innovative approach to care delivery.

Evaluating and caring for refugees includes multiple considerations beyond the usual scope of screening and care. Join us for this presentation to learn from a clinical project between a community organization and a home healthcare agency that explored the health needs of refugees, both older adults and their families.  

The vast majority of variation in spending is unexplained and reducing variation leads to reductions in utilization and improvements in quality. Crystal Run Healthcare in New York State implemented a program to reduce practice variation on a foundation of an automated tool that identifies variation in utilization of health care resources for disease management. The variation in utilization was shared with providers and led to the development of a robust best practice library grounded in published clinical guidelines and expert opinion from professional organizations. This program has allowed Crystal Run to improve quality and patient access while lowering cost of care.