Healthcare Thought Leadership • Ascendient

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Practical guides, real-world case studies, and thought-provoking trends: Higher Thinking offers our best, long-form content to meet the varied needs of healthcare leaders. New articles are added every month, and subscribers get an advance copy delivered straight to their inbox.

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Case Study

Health System Strategy: The Affiliation Option

Affiliation should always be considered an option in health system strategy – provided the process is deliberate rather than desperate. Here’s how one small system kept control of its destiny and its mission by choosing to pursue affiliation from a position of strength. | By Dawn Carter

Healthcare Horizons

Health Equity Strategy: 6 Things to Know About New CMS Rules

Starting in 2023, the Hospital IQR Program will include new rules promoting health equity. In addition to explaining the regulations in detail, we offer 6 actionable steps that healthcare leaders should consider … starting now.

Guide

The Ascendient Guide to Rural Emergency Hospitals

Medicare’s new Rural Emergency Hospital model will debut in January 2023. Could it be right for you? Here’s an in-depth look at some implications for finances, strategy, and mission. | By Dawn Carter

Case Study

Steering Two Competing Systems Toward a Population Health Center

Competition is often cited as the key to controlling healthcare costs, but when two systems compete in a small market, it’s often quality that gets discounted – not prices. | By Dawn Carter

Guide

Recruiting Healthcare Professionals: The Ascendient Guide

Recruiting healthcare professionals is a top priority for any hospital or health system, but too often, those efforts are formulaic rather than strategic. In this Guide, we show you how to implement a recruitment plan that accounts for maintenance, compliance, and growth. | By Brian Ackerman

Case Study

Community Health Assessments: Taking a Collective Approach

In Baltimore County, a collective approach to the traditional community health assessment helped to save money, broaden public participation, and build alignment among providers. Here’s a look behind the scenes of the countywide effort. | By Brian Ackerman

Healthcare Horizons

Healthcare Strategic Planning: Forget the 5 Pillars

Healthcare strategic planning is very different from operational excellence – and conflating the two is especially dangerous in an era of rapid transformation. Here are three ways to know the difference: Think bucket lists, fingerprints, and barometers. | By Dawn Carter

Whitepaper

Image vs. Reality: Mercatus, CON and Statistics in Search of Meaning

Executive Summary Medical imaging has become the latest battlefield for economic theorists who mistakenly believe that the U.S. healthcare system is a typical marketplace in need of deregulation. Critics are now claiming that Certificate of Need laws (CON) have restricted access to imaging services, resulting in the need for patients to cross state lines. Although… Read More