Mounting pressure to deliver better care at lower cost is driving profound change across healthcare. Consolidation, new sources of competition, and new payment models like bundled pricing and population health demand new priorities in operational and strategic management. Success will depend on leadership realigning organizational expectations and accountabilities with the requirements of a value-based approach. These changes put a premium on redefining key roles, upgrading staff capabilities, and sustaining new behaviors to be successful in the new healthcare millennium. The criticality of these changes make infrastructure development more than a human resources concern; these changes need to be at the top of the CEO’s strategic priority list.

Organizations don’t have the luxury of time to adapt. Increasing consumer expectations, amplified by growing transparency, will reward those organizations that can achieve these changes in a timely way and punish the rest. What is needed is a leadership infrastructure that enables organizations to focus their resources strategically and best positions them for continued success.