Higher Thinking
Quick, timely blog posts. Thought-provoking trends. How-to guides and in-depth case studies. Use this page to explore all of our best thinking on US healthcare delivery, plus the occasional news from our firm. Find something that inspires or troubles you? Contact us any time – we’d love to be your thought partner in delivering more accessible, sustainable, and equitable healthcare. >>
Blog Posts
Medicare (Dis)Advantage: Hospitals Count the Cost
Medicare Advantage now covers more than half of U.S. seniors, putting huge new strains on healthcare delivery.
Blog Posts
Total Cost of Care: Lessons from the Maryland Model
A Maryland expert shares her experience with total cost of care as CMS pushes other states to consider the approach.
Blog Posts
Can a New CMS Model Move Healthcare Transformation AHEAD?
Thoughts on the newest CMS model, based on our deep expertise with Maryland's TCOC model.
Guides
Ascendient’s Guide to the Maryland Model and the Path AHEAD
Maryland's experiment with Total Cost of Care offers a glimpse of the future for states considering the new AHEAD model from CMS.
Healthcare Horizons
Disruption Alert: Mayo’s Hospital at Home Program
Mayo Clinic's innovative, hub-and-spoke hospital at home program offers encouraging clinical and financial results – plus the potential for large-scale industry disruption.
Healthcare Horizons
Rural Telehealth: Re-Thinking the Timeline
Rural telehealth can seem like a distant dream due to broadband access issues, but the future is here today if you simply look up.
Blog Posts
ChatGPT for Hospitals: 3 Burning Questions
We asked a leading expert to answer 3 important questions about how hospitals might use AI technologies such as ChatGPT.
Blog Posts
Can an Insurance Company Transform Healthcare?
An upstart insurance company hopes to transform healthcare with a carrot-and-stick approach to primary care. Here's why it matters.
Videos
Healthcare Transformation Consulting: A CEO Testimonial
Donna Isgett, CEO of McLeod Health, discusses the growing momentum of healthcare transformation...
Blog Posts
Healthcare Strategy: 4 Lessons from Amazon Care
If you think the end of Amazon Care represents a failure, then maybe it's time to re-examine your definition of healthcare strategy.
Case Studies
Steering Two Competing Systems Toward a Population Health Center
In one rural market, we created a blueprint for cooperation rather than unsustainable competition between failing providers.
Blog Posts
3 Ways to “Upcycle” Those Unused Inpatient Hospital Rooms
There's likely to be a glut of unused inpatient hospital rooms when REH status picks up steam. Here are 3 ways to put those rooms to use.
Blog Posts
How a Church-Based Clinic Is Making Primary Care More Accessible
Accessible primary care is a key to population health. Community assets like churches & schools might be the best way to meet the need.
Blog Posts
Debating the Role of Pharmacy in Healthcare Transformation
Thanks to their ubiquity and familiarity, pharmacies can play an important role in healthcare transformation – if policymakers allow them to.
Blog Posts
Corporations Are Betting Big on Value-Based Care
Companies are investing billions in value-based care – a good sign for healthcare transformation but a potential problem for traditional providers.
Blog Posts
Physician Assistants: the Future of Team-Based Care?
Physician assistants can help relieve the looming physician shortage, but only when they're allowed to practice at the top of their license.
Blog Posts
Hospital at Home: Answering the $30,000 Question
Covid-19 gave a big boost to Hospital at Home efforts. With higher satisfaction, lower costs, and better outcomes, the trend looks unstoppable.
Blog Posts
Hospital Community Benefit: How Do You Measure and Why Should You Care?
Hospital community benefit is tough to measure, but it's worth the effort – both for more equitable healthcare and better hospital finances.
Blog Posts
Re-Thinking Retail
As Amazon and others invest in healthcare delivery, traditional providers need to re-think their approach to consumers.
Blog Posts
Reconfiguring Rural Healthcare Access
"Saving" hospitals isn't the lone solution for struggling communities. Instead, think about prioritizing services for rural healthcare access.