Rural Spotlight

Webinar: The RCM Overhaul: How AI is helping hospital improve margins & Reduce Friction, August 20

August 7, 2025

Webinar: The RCM Overhaul: How AI is helping hospital improve margins & Reduce Friction, August 20

Disconnected tech, workforce shortages, and documentation gaps undermine revenue cycle performance and drain health system margins. But leading systems are finding relief and results in a reimagined mid-rev cycle powered by AI.

Join RCM insiders as they break down how connected technology and automation are transforming clinical documentation, coding, quality and audit into drivers of financial and operational improvement.

Hear what it takes to turn a traditionally siloed phase of the revenue cycle into a strategic advantage.

Explore:

  • How AI is enabling autonomous coding and smarter CDI strategies,
  • Ways to connect traditionally siloed data for real-time visibility, and
  • Lessons from organizations already seeing ROI from AI in the mid-rev cycle.

Cost: Free

When: Wednesday, August 20, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Webinar: The Real Cost of ‘Good Enough’ in Pharmacy Procurement, August 13

August 6, 2025

Webinar: The Real Cost of ‘Good Enough’ in Pharmacy Procurement, August 13

Drug spend represents a significant and rapidly growing cost for health systems. However, pharmacy procurement for many organizations remains fragmented, manual and blind to real-time contract data. The result: missed GPO savings, DSCSA headaches and financial leakage health systems can’t afford.

Join supply chain insiders to see how health systems are turning procurement from cost center to profit protector. In one fast-paced hour, you’ll get a step-by-step framework to regain control and cut waste without piling work on pharmacy teams.

Learnings include:

  • Quantifying the real cost of “good enough: tools: price creep, chargebacks and audit exposure,
  • Tactics to streamline DSCSA reporting, and
  • Using real-time price and inventory data to drive margin-positive decisions on every order.

Cost: Free

When: Wednesday, August 13, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Webinar: The RCM Overhaul: How AI is Helping Hospitals Improve Margins & Reduce Friction, August 20

August 6, 2025

Webinar: The RCM Overhaul: How AI is Helping Hospitals Improve Margins & Reduce Friction, August 20

Disconnected tech, workforce shortages, and documentation gaps undermine revenue cycle performance and drain health system margins. But leading systems are finding relief and results in a reimagined mid-rev cycle powered by AI.

Join RCM insiders as they break down how connected technology and automation are transforming clinical documentation, coding, quality and audit into drivers of financial and operational improvement.

Hear what it takes to turn a traditionally siloed phase of the revenue cycle into a strategic advantage.

Explore

  • How AI is enabling autonomous coding and smarter CDI strategies,
  • Ways to connect traditionally siloed data for real-time visibility, and
  • Lessons from organizations already seeing ROI from AI in the mid-rev cycle.

Cost: Free

When: Wednesday, August 20, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Webinar: Robotic Surgery as a Safety-net Advantage at Cook County Health, August 11

August 6, 2025

Webinar: Robotic Surgery as a Safety-net Advantage at Cook County Health, August 11

For many hospitals, every investment faces the same scrutiny: does it expand access, improve outcomes, and keep the bottom line intact?

For Cook County Health, saying yes to robotic-assisted surgery did all three.

On August 11, join two leaders who built the program from the ground up and see how minimally invasive care became a catalyst for mission and margin alike. Speakers will share how Cook County Health launched and scaled a robotic surgery program while navigating limited capital, workforce training gaps and implementation barriers.

Whether you are evaluating the acquisition of your first robotic system or trying to accelerate growth, this session will challenge assumptions, share hard-won lessons, and show what’s possible when mission and business strategy align.

Learnings Include:

  • Evaluating minimally invasive surgery as a health equity initiative for underserved populations,
  • Leveraging data to build a financially sustainable business plan to expand 24/7 robotic surgery access, and
  • Key to overcoming barriers to programmatic expansion – from lack of buy-in belief to resource constraints.

Cost: Free

When: Monday, August 11, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Whitepaper: Expanding Access to Care and Improving Clinician Wellbeing at FQHCs with AI

August 6, 2025

Whitepaper: Expanding Access to Care and Improving Clinician Wellbeing at FQHCs with AI

Abridge FQHC partners – El Rio Health, Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic, TrueCare, and AltaMed Health Services – are integrating generative AI for clinical documentation to expand access to care by as much as 25% by boosting efficiency and enhancing clinician and patient experiences.

Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) are a crucial part of the U.S. healthcare system, ensuring access to quality care in underserved areas, regardless of patients’ ability to pay.

Abridge has developed a deep partnership model to adapt to the unique needs of FQHCs across the country, including robust multilingual support and ease of implementation of advanced AI technology.

Click Here to Download Whitepaper

NRHA’s 23rd Rural Health Clinic Conference and 24th Critical Access Hospital Conference, September 23-26, Kansas City, MO

August 6, 2025

NRHA’s 23rd Rural Health Clinic Conference and 24th Critical Access Hospital Conference, September 23-26, Kansas City, MO

Calling all clinic and CAH stakeholders to Kansas City. Don’t miss your chance to share with colleagues, network with partners, and learn from experts from across the country in NRHA’s Rural Health Clinic and Critical Access Hospital Conferences.

This is your chance to take advantage of over 40 educational and networking opportunities designed for clinic and hospital professionals and board members serving rural America.

Click Here to Learn More and Register

Now Accepting Applications: Targeted Technical Assistance for Rural Hospitals Program (TTAP), Apply by September 30

August 6, 2025

Now Accepting Applications: Targeted Technical Assistance for Rural Hospitals Program (TTAP), Apply by September 30

The Targeted Technical Assistance for Rural Hospitals Program (TTAP) aims to provide technical assistance to rural hospitals to help maintain essential services locally. Four hospitals will be selected to receive intensive one-on-one technical assistance from consultants to address prioritized financial and operational needs.

The TTAP is a federally funded initiative that offers comprehensive technical assistance to rural hospitals to address financial and operational challenges and maintain essential health services for their communities.

Priority will be given to hospitals with the greatest demonstrated need for TA and the readiness to engage in in-depth technical assistance.

All hospitals will need to apply to be considered. Hospitals that applied last year and were not selected for the intensive TA cohort are encouraged to apply again.

Click Here to Learn More and Apply

CRHCP Course: Fall 2025 Session, Register by August 17

August 6, 2025

CRHCP Course: Fall 2025 Session, Register by August 17

The National Association of Rural Health Clinics’ Academy presents the only Nationally Certified Rural Health Clinic Professional (CRHCP) Online Course to enhance knowledge and successfully run an RHC.

Are you a director, clinic administrator, or other RHC professional looking to advance your career or grow in your role? The National Association of Rural Health Clinics (NARHC) is offering a unique full-spectrum course designed to teach individuals how to operate a successful rural health clinic.

This comprehensive course covers all aspects of RHC operations and provides you with the knowledge and skills necessary to become a successful rural health clinic professional. Upon completion of the course and attainment of an 80% or higher exam score, individuals will earn their CRHCP certification.

The CHRCP Certification Provides:

  • Foundation and broad scope of RHC knowledge,
  • Best practices & tools to run a successful RHC,
  • Up-to-date information on ever-changing RHC rules & regulations, and
  • Marketable certification and asset to your employer

The course content is all online with an online proctored final exam. Learners will schedule their final exam during the week of October 27-31, 2025. Course access begins August 18.

Cost:

  • NARHC Member Price – $500
  • Non-NARHC Member Price – $650

Click Here to Learn More and Register

Dental Grant Applications Now Open

August 6, 2025

Dental Grant Applications Now Open

Access to Care Grants fund community-based initiatives in the U.S. and its territories providing free or low-cost dental care for underserved children. Selected applicants receive one-year grants of up to $30,000.

Who Can Apply

All non-private dental and/or medical organizations located in the United States and its Territories are welcome to apply:

  • Nonprofit organizations,
  • Local health jurisdictions,
  • County health departments,
  • Hospitals and clinics,
  • State government agencies,
  • Colleges/schools of dentistry,
  • Colleges/schools of medicine
  • National, state, and local dental societies
  • Non-pediatric dentist programs (however, priority is given to projects with pediatric dental leadership)
  • Hygienist-based program (as long as they are conducted under direct supervision of a dentist)
  • Resident based programs (as long as a licensed dentist is overseeing all patients and running the program)

Click Here to Learn More

Article: Doctors Who Use AI Perceived Less Favorably, Survey Suggests

August 6, 2025

Article: Doctors Who Use AI Perceived Less Favorably, Survey Suggests

Physicians who use artificial intelligence (AI) are perceived less favorably than those who don’t use it, a survey showed.

In a survey of 1,276 U.S. adults who were shown fake social media or billboard advertisements for family doctors, physicians portrayed to use AI were perceived as significantly less competent, trustworthy, and empathetic compared with those whose AI use was not mentioned, reported Moritz Reis, MSc, of the University of Wuerzburg in Germany, and colleagues.

Additionally, study participants said they were significantly less willing to make an appointment with a physician if any type of AI use was indicated, Reis and colleagues noted in JAMA Network Open.

Key Takeaways:

  • Physicians portrayed to use AI were perceived less favorably than those who were not.
  • They were perceived as significantly less competent, trustworthy, and empathetic, and study participants indicated significantly lower willingness to schedule an appointment with them.
  • Findings held true regardless of whether physicians were portrayed to use AI for administrative, diagnostic, or therapeutic purposes.

Click Here to Read Article.