Healthcare Strategies

Exploring rural healthcare cybersecurity resource constraints

Rural and small healthcare entities face the same cyber threats as the nation's largest health systems, but often lack the tools to combat them in the same way. From funding scarcity to workforce shortages, rural healthcare organizations must balance the need for an effective cybersecurity program with ongoing operational constraints. How can rural healthcare providers manage risk while understaffed and underfunded?
Featuring: Jim Roeder, vice president of IT at Lakewood Health System
In this episode, we'll cover
The unique cybersecurity challenges that small and rural healthcare providers face compared to their larger counterparts
How the cybersecurity workforce shortage has impacted rural entities' ability to attract and retain cyber talent
What types of government and community support would help rural healthcare organizations improve their cybersecurity programs
and more!
References
Understaffed, underfunded: Health IT security for small, rural providers
Rural healthcare cybersecurity aid grows, but challenges persist
To learn more about healthcare cybersecurity, check out our Healthtech Security site.
To watch video clips from the conversation, subscribe to our YouTube channel, @HealthcareStrategies.

Reshaping healthcare revenue cycle management with AI

Revenue cycle management is rife with data issues and automatable processes--making it ripe for AI implementation. How can providers use AI tools to reduce their revenue cycle management workload?
 
Featuring: Jacqueline LaPointe, executive editor, lead editor on Rev Cycle Management, Xtelligent
Anuja Vaidya, senior editor on Virtual Healthcare, Xtelligent
 
In today’s episode, we’ll cover…
The significance of AI in revenue cycle management (RCM)
Key applications of AI in RCM including eligibility verification and prior authorizations
Future prospects with generative and agentic AI 
and more!
References:
RPA to Gen AI: How AI in revenue cycle management is evolving
The state of revenue cycle management software
R1 secures investment for agentic AI in revenue cycle management
To learn more about revenue cycle management, check out Revenue Cycle Management.
To watch the video version our podcast, subscribe to our YouTube channel, @HealthcareStrategies.

Balancing technology and touch with virtual nursing programs

As virtual nursing programs transform healthcare delivery, discover how this digital revolution is leveraging technology and human expertise to address widespread staffing shortages while enhancing both the patient and provider experience. Explore how hospitals and health systems are currently using virtual nurses, the successes they have already had and how the trend will evolve in the next five to ten years. 
Featuring: Jacqueline LaPointe, executive editor at Xtelligent Healthcare 
Anuja Vaidya, senior editor, Virtual Healthcare at Xtelligent Healthcare 
In today's episode, we'll cover: 
Virtual nursing implementation and core components of a program
Nursing workforce benefits and care coordination strategies
Opportunities to improve patient satisfaction and clinician experience 
References 
What is virtual nursing, and why is it on the rise? 
Exploring health systems' virtual nursing staffing strategies 
74% of hospital leaders say virtual nursing will become integral to acute care 
What to do and not do when deploying virtual nursing programs 
To learn more about virtual nursing, check out our site, Virtual Healthcare. 
To watch video clips from our podcast, subscribe to our YouTube channel, @HealthcareStrategies. 

FDA ends GLP-1 compounding for semaglutide, tirzepatide

FDA’s removal of GLP-1 drugs from the shortage list ends supplemental compounding, shifting patient access back to branded semaglutide and tirzepatide.
Featuring: Sara Heath, executive editor, Xtelligent Healthcare
Alivia Kaylor, senior editor of Pharma Life Sciences, Xtelligent Healthcare
In today’s episode, we’ll cover…
The end of GLP-1 compounding creates a significant access barrier for millions of patients seeking weight management solutions
Financial inequity deepens as patients transition from affordable compounded options to expensive branded medications
Future innovation in oral GLP-1 formulations offers hope but remains constrained by long-term patent protections
and more!
References:
Anticipating the healthcare reach of GLP-1 receptor agonists
Are compounded GLP-1 drugs safe?
FDA winds down GLP-1 compounding policies
To learn more about GLP-1s, check out our Pharma Life Sciences and Patient Engagement sites.To watch the video clips of our podcast, subscribe to our YouTube channel, @HealthcareStrategies.

Peer navigators: the soul of community-based street medicine

Street medicine is taking off in cities nationwide as part of the industry's effort to address a rampant housing insecurity crisis and boost population health. Driven by mobile medical units outfitted to look more like primary care offices, these street medicine teams are moving unhoused individuals to better health and preparing them for stable, supportive housing.
But street medicine programs aren't successful just because of the clinicians and their supped-up sprinter vans. Rather, it's the peer navigators or community health workers to make these community-based interventions what they are. Learn more about how California-based Healthcare in Action providers and peer navigators work to support better street medicine.
Featuring: Benjamin Kaska, PA, vice president of development and partnerships, Healthcare in Action
Eric Berrera, lead peer navigator, Healthcare in Action
In this episode, we'll cover
Why street medicine is so important for supporting unhoused individuals
The importance of supporting clinical efforts with peer navigators
How street medicine providers partner best with peer navigators and community stakeholders
and more!
References
Mobile health clinics bring care to California's unhoused
Tips for Designing Community Health Worker Training Programs
To learn more about community-based care and population health, visit our Patient Engagement site.
To watch video clips from the conversation, subscribe to our YouTube channel, @HealthcareStrategies. 

Healthcare policy recap: First 100 days of Trump’s second term

The first 100 days of the second Trump presidency were marked by new, wide-ranging tariffs and executive orders along with workforce cuts and leadership changes. What are the immediate and long-term impacts of these shifts? And how has the healthcare industry responded?
 
Featuring: Alivia Kaylor, senior editor for Pharma Life Sciences at Xtelligent
Jacqueline LaPointe, executive editor of Editorial at Xtelligent
 
In today’s episode, we’ll cover…
Tariffs and their impact on drug supply chain
The impact of deregulation and workforce cuts on wasteful healthcare spending
Understanding the role of executive orders in healthcare policy
and more!
 
To learn more about these topics, check out techtarget.com/healthcarepayers and techtarget.com/pharmalifesciences.
To watch clips from our podcast, subscribe to our YouTube channel, @HealthcareStrategies.
References:
Trump to expand, enforce healthcare price transparency
How Trump's pharma tariffs disrupt drug supply chains
Trump administration policies could create headwinds across healthcare: Fitch

Pursuing strategic partnerships to tackle Cobalt Strike abuse

Fortra, the Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Health-ISAC), and Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit teamed up to combat abuse of Cobalt Strike, a legitimate adversary simulation tool that cyberthreat actors have taken a liking to. The collaborative efforts resulted in an 80% reduction in unauthorized copies of Cobalt Strike observed in the wild. What does this success story say about the value of industry collaboration in healthcare cybersecurity? 
Featuring: Bob Erdman, associate vice president, research and development at Fortra 
In this episode, we'll cover 
The threat that abuse of legitimate security tools by cyberthreat actors poses on healthcare organizations 
Joint efforts by Fortra, Microsoft, and Health-ISAC to crack down on Cobalt Strike abuse in the wild 
The value of industry-wide collaboration in making healthcare more secure 
and more! 
References 
Cobalt Strike abuse drops 80% following takedown campaign  
Microsoft, Fortra, Health-ISAC Crack Down On Cobalt Strike Abuse 
To learn more about healthcare cybersecurity, check out our Healthtech Security site. 
To watch video clips from the conversation, subscribe to our YouTube channel, @HealthcareStrategies. 

Saving lives with a state health information exchange

The Connecticut Poison Control Center receives on average a hundred calls a day and operates 24/7. To handle such an immense workload, the Center relies on one tool to sustain and improve its emergency response: the state's health information exchange (HIE), Connie. How does this HIE help the Center save lives? Listen to find out!
Featuring: Suzanne Doyon, MD, medical director of the Connecticut Poison Control Center at UConn Health
In today's episode, we will cover: 
What drove the Connecticut Poison Control Center to integrate the state's health information exchange
How the tool has impacted efficiency and even staff morale
The potential that other agencies have/could actualize by leveraging the health information exchange
...and more!
References: 
Definition: What is a Health Information Exchange?
More on Connie: Once an underdog, Connecticut’s HIE network gains traction
Health information exchange barriers hamper telehealth adoption
To learn more about value-based care, check out our site Healthtech Analytics.  
To watch video clips from our podcast, subscribe to our YouTube channel, @HealthcareStrategies. 

Reimagining value-based care to unlock quality care

The healthcare industry has been shifting from fee-for-service to value-based care and payment for decades now with not much to show for it as a whole. How can employers and other healthcare purchasers achieve value amid soaring costs and worsening disease burden?  
Featuring: Shawn Gremminger, president and CEO of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions 
In today's episode, we will cover: 
Why the current definition and implementation of value-based care in healthcare isn't working effectively, and a major rethinking is needed to create a truly value-driven system. 
The core challenges employers face in achieving value-based care, especially around data access, price transparency and practical strategies. 
Strategies for achieving higher quality, affordable care, such as narrow network design, increased pricing data access and direct contracting. 
References: 
Health Care Payment Learning & Action Network;s APM Measurement effort 
What the Transparency in Coverage rule means for healthcare price transparency 
How to accelerate value-based care despite looming healthcare crisis 
To learn more about value-based care, check out our site Healthcare Payers.  
To watch video clips from our podcast, subscribe to our YouTube channel, @HealthcareStrategies. 
 

Industry Perspectives HIMSS25 recap: Shifting AI conversations

HIMSS25 ran from March 3-6 in Las Vegas, Nevada. It attracted thousands of industry leaders and featured a predominant theme: artificial intelligence. How did the industry approach this topic in 2025, and what surprising talking points arose?
Featuring: Rebecca Pifer, senior reporter at Healthcare Dive
In today’s episode, we’ll cover…
The evolution of the AI conversation in healthcare
AI governance and oversight
Current trends in agentic AI
and more!
To learn more about AI in healthcare, check out Healthtech Analytics.
To watch video clips from our podcast, subscribe to our YouTube channel, @HealthcareStrategies.
References:
HIMSS25: Navigating the cost-benefit dilemma of health AI
Exploring emerging health tech at HIMSS25
What is artificial intelligence (AI) governance?
More from Rebecca Pifer on AI in healthcare