Author: dianawinder

Webinar: How Hospitals are Making Resident Well-Being Core to GME, February 5

January 16, 2026

Webinar: How Hospitals are Making Resident Well-Being Core to GME, February 5

Residency has always been demanding. But today’s trainees face new stressors layered on top of old ones: EHR overload, reduced autonomy, economic pressure and social isolation.

Traditional mental health models weren’t built for this – and residents are feeling the strain.

In this live webinar, join Mickey Trockel, MD, director of evidence-based innovation for Stanford University School of Medicine’s WellMD Center and Robert Flora, MD, chief academic officer and vice president of academic affairs at McLaren Health Care, to examine how modern graduate medical education is reshaping the mental health landscape.

They’ll explore the unique vulnerabilities of residents, how the training environment is changing in ways leaders underestimate, and why common mental health approaches fail in GME and what actually works.

Insights include:

  • How new GME dynamics interact with longstanding mental health risks,
  • Why traditional wellness programs often fail and what to replace them with, and
  • Practical steps to embed mental health infrastructure across training programs.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, February 5, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Webinar: Prevention in Practice: Rethinking Health Cost Control, February 4

January 16, 2026

Webinar: Prevention in Practice: Rethinking Health Cost Control, February 4

GLP-1s and high-cost claims get the attention, but the real drain on health plans? Chronic disease driven by delayed intervention and low preventive care use.

Join finance and HR leaders from CommonSpirit and MedStar to explore a prevention-first model proven to reduce costs and improve health outcomes.

You’ll get their insights on engaging employees and measuring what matters and their strategy to shift from reactive to proactive care models.

Key takeaways:

  • Why prevention gaps are costing more than you think and how to close them,
  • How to build engagement in whole-person care, including condition management, and
  • Which metrics employers use to prove the ROI of prevention-first strategies.

Cost: Free

When: Wednesday, February 4, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Now Available: Medicare Survey on Hospital Outpatient Drug Costs

January 14, 2026

Now Available: Medicare Survey on Hospital Outpatient Drug Costs

Per an Executive Order and the 2026 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) final rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) will survey hospitals to find out how much they pay for outpatient drugs.

This survey runs from January 1 through March 31, 2026. The results will help shape Medicare payment policies starting in 2027.

Hospitals that received OPPS payments for outpatient drugs between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, must complete the survey.

Contact OPPSDrugSurvey@cms.hhs.gov with any questions.

Click Here to Learn More and Access the Survey

New Form for Provider Complaints about Medicare Advantage Plans

January 14, 2026

New Form for Provider Complaints about Medicare Advantage Plans

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched a new online form for providers to submit complaints about Medicare Advantage plans.

The form collects basic information about the complainant, beneficiary, provider, and plan, along with a summary of the complaint.

Submitted complaints will be routed to CMS’s Health Plan Management System (HPMS) Complaints Tracking Module (CTM), where they will be queued and reviewed by CMS.

Click Here to Access Provider Complaints Form

Click Here to Review CMS’s Health Plan Management System Complaints Tracking Module

Rural Health Research: Rural-Urban Differences in Homebound Status by Health and Functional Limitations

January 14, 2026

Rural Health Research: Rural-Urban Differences in Homebound Status by Health and Functional Limitations

Without access to adequate institutional or home and community-based care, older adults may become homebound, a state that is associated with poorer health outcomes, higher rates of hospitalization and emergency department use, and greater risk of social isolation, functional decline, and mortality. Yet, little is known about how rates of being homebound differ between rural and urban older adults by specific health indicators. This brief from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center addresses that gap.

Key Findings:

  • Rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older reported similar rates of being homebound (5.7% and 6.1%).
  • Rural older adults in very good health (on a scale from poor to excellent) were less likely than their urban counterparts to be homebound (0.4% vs. 2.1%). However, rural older adults in poor health were more likely to be homebound than urban older adults in poor health, although the difference was not statistically significant (35.7% vs 27.1%).
  • Among both rural and urban older adults, the highest rates of being homebound were among people with diagnoses of dementia (26.6% and 26.2%, respectively) and stroke (24.0% and 13.3%).

Click Here to Read More

Rural Health Research: Transportation for Rural People with Disabilities: Example Programs from Minnesota and Idaho

January 14, 2026

Rural Health Research: Transportation for Rural People with Disabilities: Example Programs from Minnesota and Idaho

Transportation is a well-documented social driver of health with particularly unique features and challenges in rural communities. Beyond being an important driver of health for rural residents generally, transportation at the intersection of rurality and disability is especially vital.

This case series from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center examines how two rural organizations in Minnesota Rural Health Research Center examines how tow rural organizations in Minnesota and Idaho provide transportation services to individuals with disabilities in their areas.

Key Findings:

  • The United Community Action Partnership in Marshall, Minnesota provides accessible transportation through public transportation and volunteer driver services, as well as mobility management services to help individuals with disabilities coordinate transportation.
  • Mountain Rides in Ketchum, Idaho provides accessible transportation to rural residents through their Americans with Disabilities Act services as well as their Community Health Transit Program, which provides accessible transportation to medical appointments in neighboring cities for individuals with disabilities.

Click Here to Read More

NRHASC Knowledge Library: A Practical Resource for Rural Decision Makers

January 14, 2026

NRHASC Knowledge Library: A Practical Resource for Rural Decision Makers

When a question comes up related to staffing, compliance, margins, or governance, the NRHASC Knowledge Library gives rural healthcare leaders a clear place to start. It brings together curated, rural-relevant resources you can reference as issues arise, all in one place.

Click Here to Learn More

Webinar: A Roadmap for Physician Alignment, Engagement and Retention, February 24

January 14, 2026

Webinar: A Roadmap for Physician Alignment, Engagement and Retention, February 24

This educational presentation delivers a practical roadmap for strengthening physician alignment, improving engagement, and supporting long-term retention in rural health organizations.

Led by Scott Polenz, a former rural hospital CEO who developed a micro-tertiary hospital serving rural communities and later oversaw physician recruitment, onboarding, and retention for more than 1,200 providers, the session focuses on leadership and operational approaches that influence workforce stability in rural settings.

The discussion walks through how misalignment develops, where engagement breaks down, and how rural organizations can implement sustainable retention systems using actionable tools, clear checkpoints, and data-informed decision-making. Emphasis is placed on approaches that can be applied immediately and adapted across hospitals and clinics of varying size and structure.

Participants will leave with a clear understanding of how to apply the roadmap in their own organization and how to measure progress through workforce stability, operational performance, and avoided recruitment and onboarding costs.

Learning Objectives:

Participants will be able to:

  • Apply a structured roadmap to strengthen physician alignment, engagement, and retention in rural settings,
  • Identify early indicators of misalignment and prioritize actions that influence retention outcomes,
  • Implement practical leadership and operational practices that support long-term physician commitment, and
  • Measure retention progress using workforce, operational, and financial indicators.

Attend this webinar to gain a practical roadmap for improving physician alignment, engagement, and retention in rural health organizations while supporting operational and financial stability.

Cost: Free

When: Tuesday, February 24, 1:00 p.m. – 2 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Webinar: Advancing Neurological Care in Rural America: Practical Approaches to Improve Diagnosis, Care, & Outcomes in MS & Parkinson’s, February 19

January 14, 2026

Webinar: Advancing Neurological Care in Rural America: Practical Approaches to Improve Diagnosis, Care, & Outcomes in MS & Parkinson’s, February 19

Rural health professionals are often the first point of contact for patients experiencing early symptoms of neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s Disease (PPD). Yet, limited access to specialists, diagnostic tools, and coordinated care can delay diagnosis and lead to poor health outcomes.

This webinar equips rural health professionals with practical strategies to recognize, manage, and refer patients with MS and Parkinson’s disease. Participants will gain insights into early symptom recognition, best practices for ongoing wellness and care, and the latest treatments and strategies to improve quality of life for patients.

By strengthening local capacity to recognize and intervene with these complex neurological conditions, rural health teams can reduce diagnostic delays, improve treatment adherence, and achieve better long-term outcomes for people living with MS and PD.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, February 19 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Webinar: Staying Ahead of AI in Rural Revenue Cycle Compliance, January 17

January 14, 2026

Webinar: Staying Ahead of AI in Rural Revenue Cycle Compliance, January 17

This session shows rural hospital leaders exactly where AI-driven payor scrutiny is creating financial risk and what actions have reduced that risk in similar rural settings.

Attendees will see which documentation patterns and oversight gaps have triggered automated denials and audits in rural and critical access hospitals, and which targeted changes have improved reimbursement without adding staff. A rural case example included in the session reflects an approximate 2.5 percent improvement in net patient revenue following tighter documentation governance.

The session is led by Stuart Newsome, who has spent 30 years helping rural hospitals prevent denials and respond to audits, and Taylor Searfoss, who works directly with rural hospital leadership teams on revenue integrity and audit readiness in resource-constrained environments.

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify where AI-driven activity is impacting reimbursement,
  • See which oversight gaps matter most in rural hospitals, and
  • Apply changes that have produced measurable financial results.

Attend this webinar if you want clarity on:

  • What to fix,
  • Where to focus, and
  • What actually works in rural revenue cycle oversight

Cost: Free

When: Tuesday, February 17, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register