Rural Spotlight

Whitepaper: Hospitals Win or Lose Patients at the Digital Front Door

July 8, 2026

Whitepaper: Hospitals Win or Lose Patients at the Digital Front Door

Patient trust in healthcare has fallen sharply — only 24% of Americans now believe providers prioritize care over profits, down from 77% in December 2021. For a growing share of patients, that judgment is forming online, before they ever schedule an appointment.

A new national survey of 1,000 U.S. adults, paired with in-depth user experience interviews, reveals how much weight patients now place on the digital front door. Three in four use hospital or health system websites during their care decisions. Eight in ten say better digital experiences would make them more likely to engage with their provider.

This whitepaper translates the research into a clear view of where digital friction is costing patient volume and what marketing and digital leaders can do about it.

Inside the report:

  • Why patients now equate digital quality with care quality
  • Where onsite search is breaking down — and what patients expect instead
  • How task abandonment converts into call center overflow and lost revenue
  • Why Gen Z and Millennial expectations are widening the gap fastest

Click Here to Download this Whitepaper

On-Demand Webinar: What the Data Says: A Candid Conversation on Healthcare Operations Today

July 8, 2026

On-Demand Webinar: What the Data Says: A Candid Conversation on Healthcare Operations Today

Hospital operating margins closed out 2025 at an adjusted year-to-date rate of 1.3%, according to Kaufman Hall. At that threshold, a single operational inefficiency can quickly become a financial crisis.

This on-demand sessions offers a data-driven look at where health systems are struggling – and where early progress is being made.

Drawing from a pre-event survey of 70+ healthcare leaders and live polling conducted with executive, clinical and operational audiences, the conversation covers margin pressure and AI adoption in healthcare operations.

Int this session, you will learn:

  • Why financial pressure dominates as the top operational challenge, cited by 52% of surveyed leaders,
  • Where AI adoption is breaking down: 30% of executives cited prohibitive cost to scale as the primary obstacle.

Click Here to Download this On-Demand Webinar

Webinar: Why Digital Health Strategies Stall at the Front Lines: 4 Systems Weigh In, July 14

July 8, 2026

Webinar: Why Digital Health Strategies Stall at the Front Lines: 4 Systems Weigh In, July 14

Healthcare organizations have spent years building digital strategies. A lack of ambition is not the issue. The challenge is that most strategies still don’t translate to the people delivering care.

Front-line clinicians are quietly opting out of tools they were never consulted on. Executives are tracking dashboards that don’t reflect day-to-day workflow reality. The feedback loops meant to bridge the two are slow, ad hoc or missing entirely. The result? Stalled adoption, frustrated teams and digital investments that fail to move the needle on the outcomes they were funded to improve.

In this session, clinical and informatics leaders from Ballad Health, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Jersey Shore University Medical Center and RWJBarnabas Health will have a candid conversation on closing those gaps.

Insights include:

  • Where digital strategy most often disconnects from the front lines
  • How to structure feedback loops between clinicians and executive decision-makers
  • Defining “digital maturity” so it resonates across all stakeholders
  • The non-negotiables in a digital health roadmap and what tends to get overlooked

Cost: Free

When: Tuesday, July 14, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Webinar: Price Transparency, Done Right: Putting Medication Access in Patients Hands, July 16

July 8, 2026

Webinar: Price Transparency, Done Right: Putting Medication Access in Patients Hands, July 16

Real-time medication price transparency is no longer a someday ambition. As of 2025, 75 percent of hospitals had integrated real-time prescription benefit information for at least some payers, according to federal and CMS has required Medicare Part D plans to support these tools since 2021.

This fireside chat takes that question head-on. Rather than staying at the vision level, the conversation digs into what real transparency requires at the point of care, where the friction lives and what it takes to put cost and access information directly in patients hands without straining the provider-patient relationship.

In this 60-minute session, you’ll learn:

  • What real-time medication price transparency looks like when it works for every party,
  • How to surface cost and access information without disrupting the provider-patient relationship, and
  • Where the operational and incentive tensions live, and how leaders are navigating them.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, July 16, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

PROMPT RHC Learning Network In-Person Meeting, August 27

June 30, 2026

PROMPT RHC Learning Network In-Person Meeting, August 27

The Missouri PROMPT Learning Network is transforming how Missouri Rural Health Clinics succeed in today’s evolving healthcare environment. This statewide collaborative equips Missouri RHCs with expert guidance, peer support, and practical tools to strengthen operations, improve care, advance Value-Based care efforts, and pursue NCQQ PCMH recognition.

The next Missouri’s PROMPT RHC Learning Network Meeting will be held in person, on August 27, 2026. The robust meeting agenda includes Federal and State Experts which you can connect with to help you stay ahead of industry changes.

Why Participate?

PROMPT helps Missouri Rural Health Clinics elevate patient care, strengthen performance data, leverage DRVS for measurable QI progress, meet payer and funder requirements, and grow within Value-Based care – supported every step of the way by industry-leading SMEs and peers who understand rural healthcare.

What PROMPT offers:

  • Direct access to federal and state experts and leading healthcare subject matter experts (SMEs),
  • Real-world strategies to enhance clinical data and operational efficiency,
  • Tailored support focused on Missouri’s rural healthcare challenges,
  • Guidance to advance and sustain Value-Based Care models,
  • Best practices for using DRVS to support Population Health Management, drive QI intiatives, and improve clinical quality measures,
  • A featured spotlight on a Missouri Rural Health Clinic each session.

Key Focus Areas:

  • Collaboration & networking,
  • Quality improvement and best-practice sharing,
  • Data analytics, data hygiene, and performance reporting,
  • Value-Based Care transformation and readiness,
  • Effective use of DRVS for PHM, QI initiatives, and quality measure improvement,
  • Insights and guidance from expert SMEs, and
  • Highlighting success stories from Missouri Rural Health Clinics.

Funding is available for the RHCs to cover a one-night hotel stay for up to 2 rooms (2 double queen rooms) and mileage for one vehicle. Please contact Lisab@cabllc.com for more information.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, August 27, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Where:

Missouri Soybean Association, 734 S. Country Club Drive, Jefferson City, MO 65109.

Click Here to Register

Funding Opportunity: Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Program, HRSA-26-046, Applications Due by August 6

June 30, 2026

Funding Opportunity: Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Program, HRSA-26-046, Applications Due by August 6

The purpose of the Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Program is to strengthen the quality improvement culture in small rural healthcare facilities by building capacity to effectively collect and use clinical data while implementing evidence-based approaches to improve health care quality with a particular focus on improving chronic disease outcomes.

Additionally, the program strengthens the skills and collaboration of the billing and coding staff in coordination with the front-line clinical staff. By creating a sustainable quality improvement capacity in small hospitals and clinics, these facilities will be better positioned to take part in value-based care models while also enhancing health care status for their patients.

Eligible Applicants:

  • County governments
  • Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education,
  • Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments),
  • Special district governments,
  • Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education,
  • Native American tribal governments (federally recognized),
  • City or township governments, and
  • Others (see additional information on eligibility).

Additional Information on Eligibility:

Eligible applicants must be a rural domestic public or nonprofit private health care provider or provider of health care services, such as a critical access hospital, a rural health clinic; or be another rural provider or network of small rural providers identified by the Secretary as a key source of local or regional care; and not previously have received an award under this subsection for the same or similar project. The applicant organization must be in a rural area.

 

Apply by August 6, 11:59 p.m. ET

Click Here to Learn More and Apply

CMS Releases 2027 End-Stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule, Comment by August 24

June 30, 2026

CMS Releases 2027 End-Stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule, Comment by August 24

On June 24, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule to update payment rates and policies under the Medicare End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System (PPS) for renal dialysis services furnished to Medicare beneficiaries on or after January 1, 2027.

CMS is proposing to increase the base ESRD PPS rate by approximately 1.1% and proposes changes to the adjustments for low volume facilities and pediatric patients. CMS also proposed changes to the quality measures collected as part of the ESRD Quality Improvement Program.

Comments are due in the Federal Register by 11:59 p.m. on August 24, 2026.

Click Here to Learn More and Submit a Comment

Whitepaper: What Provider Data Errors are Costing Health Systems and Payers

June 30, 2026

Whitepaper: What Provider Data Errors are Costing Health Systems and Payers

Provider data errors contribute to billions in annual denied-claim waste. Physicians and staff spend up to 13 hours per week navigating prior authorizations and denials, with a meaningful share tied to data errors. And 90% of patients say accurate provider listings are essential to establishing trust.

The problem runs deeper than bad records. Most organizations operate with fragmented provider data spread across EHRs, credentialing systems, payer rosters and marketing platforms – each maintaining a different version of the truth.

This whitepaper shows healthcare leaders how to move past fragmented systems and start treating provider data as a foundation for growth. Real world case studies and a practical seven-step roadmap illustrate what it takes to establish a single continuously updated source of truth and activate it across every workflow that depends on it.

Key learnings:

  • Where provider data fragmentation creates the most financial and operational exposure,
  • Why point solutions and general-purpose master data management tools leave systemic gaps in place,
  • How unified provider data supports patient access, referral management and No Surprises Act compliance, and
  • Steps to build an enterprise provider data strategy without a large-scale transformation.

Click Here to Download this Whitepaper

Whitepaper: New CIO Report: Closing the Gap Between AI Pilots and Payoff

June 30, 2026

Whitepaper: New CIO Report: Closing the Gap Between AI Pilots and Payoff

Many health systems have AI pilots running, but only 4% have scaled AI with measurable outcomes. This second annual CIO report, based on a survey and 1:1 interviews with more than 60 health system technology leaders, reveals what is driving that gap and what it takes to close it.

And the pressure to act has never been higher. Razor thin margins, a worsening workforce crisis and sweeping cuts to federal healthcare funding mean the cost of waiting is no longer abstract – 94% of leaders surveyed say delays in operationalizing AI would put their organization at a competitive disadvantage, and 77% say even a one-to-two-year delay would result in meaningful lost savings and efficiency gains.

The full report includes detailed findings on EHR dependency, agentic AI adoption, vendor consolidation strategies and five concrete recommendations for CIOs navigating these decisions in 2026.

Key learnings:

  • The ROI measurement gap stalling AI scale, and why most leaders still struggle to quantify returns at all,
  • Why EHR dependency remains the top execution barrier and willingness to wait for EHR vendors has declined sharply,
  • Why automated care operations have moved from future consideration to mission-critical for more than 70% of leaders, and
  • What health systems consolidating around platform partners are doing differently – and why so few have made the shift.

Click Here to Download this Whitepaper

Webinar: The EVS Single-Use Debate is Shifting: What the Data Means for Cost and Sustainability, July 13

June 30, 2026

Webinar: The EVS Single-Use Debate is Shifting: What the Data Means for Cost and Sustainability, July 13

Budgets are tight, clinical standards are higher than ever, and sustainability scrutiny is intensifying. Yet many hospitals still run fragmented environmental services programs: multiple disinfectant chemistries, inconsistent ordering and heavy reliance on reusable textiles that drive laundry, logistics and rework.

Left unaddressed, that complexity compounds. Every added product and one-off process pulls staff time, inflates spend and makes it harder to answer questions about quality and environmental impact. Leaders are now re-evaluating long-held assumptions about what belongs in an EVS portfolio.

Join an infection prevention specialist for a grounded discussion on optimizing EVS. The program will outline how hospitals are standardizing disinfectants across facilities, consolidating to fewer products and evaluating a shift from reusable to single-use wipes, mops and textiles, with takeaways from laundering comparison studies and a sustainability lens that holds up to scrutiny.

You will learn:

  • A step-by-step approach to standardize disinfectants without disrupting care,
  • A transparent cost comparison for reusable versus single use, including laundry and labor,
  • How to build an evidence-based sustainability narrative for EVS products, and
  • Governance and compliance guardrails that sustain savings and quality gains.

Cost: Free

When: Monday, July 13, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register