Rural Spotlight

Webinar: Beyond Survival: How Rural Hospitals Can Build Future-Ready IT, Wednesday, March 25

March 23, 2026

Webinar: Beyond Survival: How Rural Hospitals Can Build Future-Ready IT, Wednesday, March 25

Modernizing IT in rural Healthcare isn’t easy. Tight budgets, difficulty attracting and retaining skilled talent, and escalating cyber risks make it hard for rural hospitals to move beyond day-to-day survival.

This webinar examines how rural hospitals can modernize IT without breaking the bank. The focus is on how strategic partnerships and flexible leadership models can help organizations stabilize core systems, address risk and plan more effectively for the future.

Through real-world examples, attendees will learn how access to experienced IT leadership, enterprise-level capabilities and guidance on funding opportunities can support more sustainable decision-making. The session highlights practical approaches that help rural hospitals move from reactive IT management to more structured, future-ready planning.

Learning points:

  • Why a long-term strategic IT partner is essential for rural hospitals,
  • How full-time or fractional IT leadership supports expertise and continuity,
  • Turning funding opportunities into actionable IT upgrades, and
  • Real-world success stories in modernization and cyber resilience.

Cost: Free

When: Wednesday, March 25, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Webinar: Decentralized Pharmacy Procurement is Costing Health Systems Control and Margin, March 24

March 23, 2026

Webinar: Decentralized Pharmacy Procurement is Costing Health Systems Control and Margin, March 24

Pharmacy operations have shifted from a departmental function to a board-level priority as margin pressure and compliance exposure intensify across health systems.

Yet many organizations still operate with fragmented procurement models and legacy oversight approaches that limit control and visibility. As for accountability expectations rise, these structures make it harder for leaders to understand true purchasing performance, manage risk and respond quickly to emerging issues.

This webinar explores how health system leaders can regain visibility, protect margin and strengthen pharmacy governance without adding operational burden. The experts will examine why traditional reliance on GPOs, wholesalers and retrospective reporting no longer meets today’s demands and what is required to support effective, enterprise-level oversight.

You will learn:

  • How pharmacy margin and compliance have become enterprise issues,
  • Where health systems lose margin and operational control,
  • Why traditional procurement models no longer work, and
  • What effective pharmacy governance requires now.

Cost: Free

When: Tuesday, March 24, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Upcoming Webinars: Expert to Expert webinars – Joint Commission, CMS, Medicaid, and eCQM Stewards, Starting March 26

March 23, 2026

Upcoming Webinars: Expert to Expert webinars – Joint Commission, CMS, Medicaid, and eCQM Stewards, Starting March 26

Register now to attend the following Expert to Expert webinars offered in collaboration by Joint Commission, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and eCQM stewards. These free, publicly available webinars offer CE credit for the live broadcasts. The eCQM annual update webinars provide an overview of the featured eCQM(s) and highlight changes for 2026 implementation.

The new measure review webinars address new eCQMs for 2026 implementation and provide a review of measure intent and specifications, including the initial patient population, denominator, exclusions, numerator, data elements, and logic.

During each webinar, frequently asked questions will be addressed, and the audience can submit questions for response during a Q&A segment. Slides, Recordings, and Transcripts will be available here following each webinar: Quality Measurement Webinars & Videos | Joint Commission, scroll down the page and use the checkbox to sort for Expert to Expert webinars.

Registration is now open for these 7 webinars offered March – May:

  • Annual Updates for Safe Use of Opioids – Concurrent Prescribing eCQM for 2026 Reporting Year, March 26, Click Here to Register
  • Annual Updates for Hospital Harm Hyper and Hypo Glycemia eCQMs for 2026 Reporting Year, April 2, Click Here to Register
  • Annual Updates for Malnutrition Care Score eCQM for 2026 Reporting Year, April 9, Click Here to Register
  • 2026 New Measure Review Webinar for Hospital Harm – Falls with Injury, April 16, Click Here to Register
  • 2026 New Measure Review Webinar for Hospital Harm – Postoperative Respiratory Failure, April 23, Click Here to Register
  • Annual Updates for Excessive Radiation Dose of Inadequate Image Quality for Diagnostic Computed Tomography (CT) in Adults eCQM (for both Inpatient and Outpatient Settings), April 30, Click Here to Register
  • Annual Updates for Hospital Harm – Acute Kidney Injury eCQM, May 7, Click Here to Register

Webinar: Beyond Cost Centers: Finding Margin Opportunity Through Encounter Level Variation, March 25

March 20, 2026

Webinar: Beyond Cost Centers: Finding Margin Opportunity Through Encounter Level Variation, March 25

Hospital margins remain under pressure, yet most organizations still rely on cost center reporting to understand profitability.

The problem is that cost centers rarely reveal where margin is truly gained or lost. Variation often occurs across providers, sites of care, and individual patient encounters – but traditional financial reporting makes it difficult to see.

In this session, they will discuss how external Cost & Margin benchmarks for healthcare organizations across the country connect financial, operational, and reimbursement data to reveal profitability at the encounter level.

With this level of insight, finance teams can uncover variation, identify margin opportunity, and better support strategic and operational decisions.

Insights include:

  • Why cost center reporting often hides meaningful margin variation,
  • How encounter-level cost and reimbursement data reveal true profitability drivers,
  • Where organizations are uncovering margin opportunities across providers and sites of care, and
  • How finance leaders are using these insights to support smarter operational and strategic decisions.

Cost: Free

When: Wednesday, March 25, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Webinar: How One System Realigned Its Fragmented EHR and Helped Improve Care Delivery, March 25

March 20, 2026

Webinar: How One System Realigned Its Fragmented EHR and Helped Improve Care Delivery, March 25

Most health care organizations struggle with fragmented systems that make it difficult to share patient information and operate efficiently. Optum Health faced this challenge head-on – transforming dozens of standalone HER systems into a single enterprise platform. This transformation unified clinical data and streamlined care delivery by standardizing supporting technologies, third-party applications and end-user devices across the network.

Discover actionable strategies to align technology, improve efficiency and enable growth – all while helping enhance the patient and provider experience. This webinar will cover 4 key lessons:

  • Operational transformation,
  • Care team and staff change management,
  • Seamless data flow, and
  • Technology and workflow alignment.

Cost: Free

When: Wednesday, March 25, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Webinar: From Anecdote to Evidence: Inside KLAS’ ROI Validation of Ambient AI, March 26

March 20, 2026

Webinar: From Anecdote to Evidence: Inside KLAS’ ROI Validation of Ambient AI, March 26

Ambient AI is everywhere. Independent validation is not.

In this Becker’s webinar, KLAS Research shares findings from its ROI validation study examining real-world results from FMOL Health, McLeod Health and Rush University System for Health.

The session will explore how these organizations moved beyond plot anecdotes to measurable outcomes – including a 65% reduction in after-hours documentation time and an average $1,004 monthly revenue lift per provider.

As health systems evaluate ambient AI for broader deployment, understanding independently validated ROI is critical. This session offers an evidence-based look at what measurable impact looks like in practice.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, March 26, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Webinar: Vernon Health’s Connected Pharmacy Strategy, March 23

March 20, 2026

Webinar: Vernon Health’s Connected Pharmacy Strategy, March 23

Pharmacy procurement is no longer just about purchasing medications.

Rising drug costs, persistent shortages, limited staffing and growing 340B complexity are forcing pharmacy leaders into broader financial and operational decisions, often without connected data or workflows to support them.

In this webinar, leaders from Vernon Health share how they are rethinking procurement decision-making to better align cost, supply and compliance. The discussion explores why siloed, manual processes slow purchasing decisions and limit visibility, especially during shortages and staffing constraints.

You will learn:

  • The operational risks created by manual, siloed procurement processes,
  • How disconnected data limits visibility during shortages, and
  • Ways connected insights support compliance and financial oversight.

Cost: Free

When: Monday, March 23, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Commission on Cancer Launches New Accreditation for Hospitals in Rural Counties

March 18, 2026

Commission on Cancer Launches New Accreditation for Hospitals in Rural Counties

The Commission on Cancer (CoC) has launched a new accreditation for hospitals located in rural counties. This new opportunity offers the proven benefits of CoC accreditation in a package tailored for the unique aspects of taking care of cancer patients in a rural setting.

To learn more, please join an informational webinar on March 25, 2026, at 4 p.m.

In this 45-minute webinar, attendees will learn:

  • What CoC accreditation is and how it impacts care for patients with cancer,
  • Why CoC accreditation is important for hospitals in rural areas,
  • About a new set of CoC accreditation is important for hospitals in rural counties,
  • Who is eligible and how to apply for CoC rural cancer program accreditation, and
  • Answers to frequently asked questions.

If you are unable to attend, attendees who register will receive a recording of the webinar by email.

When: Wednesday, March 25, 4:00 p.m. CT

Click Here to Register

Whitepaper: The Future of Payer-Provider Collaboration: Balancing Reimbursement Pressures & Value-based Progress

March 16, 2026

Whitepaper: The Future of Payer-Provider Collaboration: Balancing Reimbursement Pressures & Value-based Progress

Health system technology leaders are being pulled into the center of payer-provider conflict. Rising denials, growing administrative workloads and tighter reimbursement timelines are forcing organizations to rethink how data, infrastructure and platforms support collaboration.

This report promises a clearer view of what is actually driving friction between payers and providers today and what leaders believe could ease it. Rather than positioning collaboration as a catch-all solution, it examines where alignment breaks down and what realistic improvements look like from the provider perspective.

The analysis draws from a closed-door session at Becker’s 13th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable and features candid input from health system leaders across the country.

Learnings Include:

  • How reimbursement pressure is reshaping provider technology priorities,
  • Why current payer-provider processes create operational drag,
  • What leaders see as realistic paths to better collaboration, and
  • How regulatory changes could elevate the role of shared platforms.

Click Here to Download Whitepaper

Whitepaper: 20 Criteria Hospital Leaders Should Use to Evaluate Telepsychiatry

March 16, 2026

Whitepaper: 20 Criteria Hospital Leaders Should Use to Evaluate Telepsychiatry

Hospitals are under increasing pressure to expand behavioral health access while managing emergency department congestion, inpatient capacity and limited psychiatric coverage.

Many organizations have adopted telepsychiatry to reduce boarding and improve access, yet leaders often struggle to evaluate which partners can meet hospital-level standards for quality, reliability and integration. Without a clear framework, critical gaps in credentialing, response times or workflows can be missed.

This whitepaper offers a practical checklist outlining 20 criteria to guide telepsychiatry partner evaluations. It helps hospital leaders move beyond surface features to assess long-term clinical, operational and financial fit.

Key takeaways include:

  • How virtual behavioral health services can improve access and reduce ED bottlenecks,
  • Quality, credentialing and governance criteria leaders should assess,
  • Operational and technology requirements that support timely consults, and
  • Reporting and financial considerations that impact sustainability.

Click Here to Download Whitepaper