August 25, 2025

MRHA Webinar: Total Case Management, September 25

Join the Missouri Rural Health Association (MRHA) for an engaging session introducing a new model of Case Management designed specifically for rural healthcare. Total Case Management emphasizes intentional patient navigation to ensure patients receive the right care, at the right time, in the right place – while also improving hospital revenue and operational efficiency.

This webinar will guide rural health leaders through strategies to identify barriers in traditional case management, strengthen ER-to-inpatient service utilization, and ultimately repair and transform broken case management models. By adopting the Total Case Management Model, organizations can deliver better care, increase patient satisfaction, reduce insurance denials, and strengthen their bottom line.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, September 25, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

August 20, 2025

Whitepaper: How Health System CFOs Can Build Accountability-driven Improvement Strategies: 5 Steps

Struggling to translate improvement plans into real results? You’re not alone. Many hospitals set goals but fail to create accountability systems to meet them.

Without a structured approach, teams lose focus, metrics multiply and real ROI slips away.

This executive guide outlines five proven steps for continuous improvement. The strategies are drawn from systems achieving lasting financial performance improvement through better alignment, transparent governance and progress monitoring.

Inside the Report:

• The most common reason performance improvement plans fall short – and how to fix it,
• How to identify and prioritize the right improvement opportunities across departments, and
• A blueprint for progress tracking that enhances accountability and strategic planning.

Click Here to download the Whitepaper

August 18, 2025

48 Health Systems Call for Telehealth Extension

Several dozen healthcare organizations, including 48 health systems, have written a letter to Congress, urging lawmakers to extend telehealth coverage for Medicare beneficiaries.

The pandemic-era telehealth flexibilities are set to expire September 30 without an extension. “While we strongly support making Medicare telehealth access permanent, if that’s not achievable at this time, we urge Congress to approve the longest possible extension,” the signatories wrote in the August 11 letter. “At a minimum, a two-year extension is needed to ensure stability and provide clarity for patients, providers and the healthcare system as a whole.”

Click Here to Read Letter

Click Here to See List of Healthcare Systems that signed on to the letter

August 12, 2025

Policy Update: Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Electronic Prescribing, Real-Time Prescription Benefit and Electronic Prior Authorization (HTI-4) Final Rule, Effective October 1, 2025

On July 31, 2025, the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ASTP/ONC) finalized the HTI-4 final rule. The new rule adds several new certification criteria and related standards to the ONC Health IT Certification Program.

Specifically, the rule finalizes the use of certified EHRs to submit prior authorizations, select drugs consistent with a patient’s insurance coverage, and exchange electronic prescription information with pharmacies and insurance plans.

These updates were originally proposed in the HTI-2 NPRM released in August 2024 and were finalized as part of the FY2026 CMS Hospital Inpatient Prospective System (IPPS) final rule (CMS-1833-F). This regulation is effective October 1, 2025.

Click Here to Learn More

July 15, 2025

Access and Quality of Mental Health Services in Rural and Urban America

Among the key findings in this brief from the University of South Carolina Rural Health Research Center:

• Digital Divide Exacerbating Access: Both rural and urban Zip Code Tabulation Areas located more than 30 minutes away from the nearest mental health facility have a higher proportion of households without access to essential telecommunication devices.
• Quality of Rural Mental Health Facilities: Rural facilities generally demonstrate better performance compared to urban facilities in terms of continuity of care measures and lower rates of physical restraint and seclusion usage.

Click Here to Read More

July 8, 2025

MRHA Webinar: Health Care Workforce Project, July 10

Join the Missouri Rural Health Association (MRHA) for an insightful session on the Missouri Health Care Workforce Project (MHCWP), an initiative designed to provide critical workforce analysis to support policymakers, healthcare professionals, and educators in addressing Missouri’s healthcare workforce needs.

Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how workforce data informs policy decisions, impacts healthcare access, and supports strategic planning across Missouri. The session will also cover federal and state trends in workforce analysis and integration, equipping participants with actionable insights to navigate and influence healthcare workforce development.

Who Should Attend:

• Policymakers,
• Practitioners, healthcare, and public health professionals
• Researchers,
• State government,
• Local public health agencies,
• Educators,
• Students,
• Educational institutions,
• Health systems,
• Workforce development professionals,
• Academia,
• Public and private communities,
• Interest groups,
• Community partners,
• State and local agents,
• Elected officials

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, July 10, 12:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

July 7, 2025

Webinar: Feeling Stuck on AI See How Top Healthcare Marketers are Moving Forward, On-Demand

Half of marketers say they feel overwhelmed by AI. And for healthcare marketing teams, the pressure is higher – compliance, brand safety and accuracy concerns can bring momentum to a halt. But while others hesitate, forward-looking health systems are already using AI to accelerate strategy and execution.

In this on-demand webinar, a healthcare digital marketing leader shares practical frameworks and real-world use cases for using AI across your marketing workflow – from campaign planning to reporting and content creation.

What You’ll Learn:

• Where AI can add value today: Use cases across creative, analytics and planning,
• Prompt examples you can use right away, and
• How to stay compliant without slowing innovation.

Cost: free

When: On-Demand, watch at your convenience

July 2, 2025

Faculty Loan Repayment Program – Deadline Extended to July 22

There is still time to apply to the Faculty Loan Repayment Program. HRSA extended the application deadline to July 22. Eligible faculty members can apply to this program.

HRSA will repay a portion of a recipient’s health professional student loan debt ($40,000 max over two years). In return, a recipient will serve at an eligible health professions school.

Apply by July 22

Click Here to Learn More and Apply

July 2, 2025

HRSA Announces New Board of Directors for the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network

On June 5, HRSA announced the new 34-member Board of Directors for the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). This launch of the OPTN Board of Directors advances HRSA’s ongoing efforts to strengthen OPTN governance, mitigate conflicts of interest, and modernize the organ donation, procurement and transplantation system within the United States.

This effort has been strongly supported by HHS Secretary Kennedy, whose leadership has been key to advancing these modernization goals. His support underscores a commitment to strengthening the U.S. organ donation, procurement and transplantation system, and to making impactful decisions that benefit Americans awaiting organ transplants.

Click Here to Read More

June 23, 2025

Save the Date: Minority Mental Health Webinar Series

Join the Minority Mental Health Webinar Series to learn more from professionals at the University of Missouri’s Department of Psychiatry about ways to dispel myths and provide tips to address mental health disparities.

Series Schedule:

• Dispelling Mental Health Myths, Thursday, July 24, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
• Providing Mental Health Tips, Thursday, August 28, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Cost: Free

Click Here to Register