September 29, 2025
Article: 10 Top Areas for Growth, Per Health System CEOs and CFOs
As healthcare continues to face financial pressures, workforce shortages, and rising patient expectations, health system executives are reimagining their strategies for growth. In a series of connections with C-suite leaders across the country, 10 themes surfaced again and again – from expanding outpatient access to investing in digital transformation and behavioral health.
10 Most Frequently Cited Growth Areas:
- Ambulatory and Outpatient Care
- One of the strongest themes across executive responses was the shift toward ambulatory and outpatient care.
- Digital transformation (AI, telehealth, EHR, virtual care)
- Digital transformation has become more than a buzzword – it is a fundamental growth strategy for healthcare organizations.
- Primary and Preventive Care
- A robust primary care network is seen as the linchpin of sustainable growth.
- Behavioral health
- Executives across the board highlighted behavioral health as one of the most urgent and underserved areas of healthcare.
- Workforce development
- Growth is impossible without a strong and sustainable workforce.
- Value-based care and partnerships
- Executives emphasized the importance of value-based care models and collaborative partnerships as pathways to growth.
- Specialty service line expansion
- Alongside broad strategies like outpatient and digital expansion, executives are still prioritizing growth in specific clinical service lines.
- Strategic partnerships and M&A
- Healthcare executives are increasingly looking at partnerships, affiliations, and mergers as pathways to expand their reach and achieve scale.
- Consumerism and patient experience
- Consumerism has become a defining force in healthcare.
- Innovation hubs and robotics
- Many systems are pursuing innovation as a growth strategy in its own right.
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