By: Kathryn Ruscitto,
Advisor
Planning strategy today requires holding steady while priorities continually shift. The answer to “What matters most?” often depends on where you sit within the health system. This brief overview blends both system- level and clinician perspectives.
In an age saturated with information, it is easy to be diverted by whatever emerges as the issue of the week. Clear strategic priorities help maintain discipline and focus, allowing leaders to pursue long-term goals while still reassessing risks and opportunities as they arise.
Key Strategic Issues Identified by Health Leaders
1. Improving Care Outcomes: Integrated Care and Social Determinants
Achieving better outcomes requires linking care across time, place, and discipline, while fully accounting for the impact of social determinants on health. Coordinated models and multisector partnerships remain essential. Best practices include using data and technology to improve access and processes, implementing safety practices and ensuring equity in care.
2. Climate Change and Health Impact
Environmental conditions increasingly shape individual and population health. Rising temperatures are contributing to tick-borne diseases, food system instability, and antimicrobial resistance. Climate readiness is now part of core health strategy. Best practices include: assessing facilities for weather impact, disaster and community support, planning and health surveillance for emerging disease.
3. Technology and Public Health
The current information landscape offers powerful tools. Data mining can accelerate diagnosis and treatment, and zip-code-level analysis can help identify pockets of chronic illness. Technology is rapidly reshaping population health capabilities. Best Practices: Modernize data infrastructure, ensure data security, use data to address specific problems and evaluate solutions, leverage AI in systems improvement.
4. Workforce Sustainability and Culture
Aging, workload, violence, and cultural pressures have eroded the clinical workforce. Strategic focus must be placed on the elements that can be improved—work environment, support systems, safety, training, and retention. Best practices: Continuous learning at all levels, Employee health and well being programs, open communication models across workforce.
5. Investing in Data, AI, and Value-Based Skills
AI offers the potential to improve quality by making complex data more usable. Clinicians will continue to lead decision-making but will have deeper information available to them. Building skills for value-based care is part of this transition. Best Practices: Aligning workforce and future technology needs, simulation labs and classes for using data to improve quality and skills.
6. Developing Broader Leadership
Future leaders must have a grounded understanding of clinical realities. Strengthening leadership development opportunities for clinicians is essential for organizational resilience. Best Practices: Leadership Academies, mentoring for future roles, coaching opportunities, and organizational commitment to clinician development.
Aligning Community Needs and Organizational Demands
Community needs must fit within overarching strategic goals. AI tools can quickly assess communities at the zip code level and synthesize insights from health system and industry best practices. The organizational dedication to strategic goals helps leaders build a clearer picture of where to focus on a short and long term basis. Strategy in the age of information is even more crucial to ensure organizational readiness.
National Resources
• American Journal of Healthcare Strategy ajhcs.org
• The Advisory Board advisory.com
• Harvard Medical School hms.harvard.edu
• Professional Associations: AMA, CHA, AHHA, ANA, AHA
Kathryn Ruscitto, Advisor, can be reached at linkedin.com/in/kathrynruscitto or at krusct@gmail.com
