HQW 2026: Prepare for the Five Forces Reshaping Healthcare (Live)-HQW 2026: Prepare for the Five Forces Reshaping Healthcare (Live)

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Video Summary

Jackson Health System quality executive Isis Zimbrana, quality scholar David Nash, and Rule of Three CEO Josh Berlin discuss the pressures shaping healthcare quality and safety, guided by NACU’s Healthcare Quality Competency Framework.<br /><br />Zimbrana argues that healthcare has made progress, but financial strain, workforce shortages and burnout, fragmented care, rapid technology adoption, and changing regulations have outpaced many systems’ ability to adapt. Quality must become an enterprise-wide capability, not just a department or collection of measures. Nash adds concerns about declining trust, consolidation without clear quality gains, persistent medical errors, and the loss of the daily learning and feedback practices used during COVID-19.<br /><br />The panel stresses that these challenges are interconnected and should be prioritized according to each organization’s risks and needs. Rather than focusing narrowly on margins, leaders should reduce waste and error. Promising developments include stronger learning systems, continuous readiness, improved care transitions, quality-focused board governance, and expanded professional education.<br /><br />Looking ahead, the speakers emphasize visible, sustained leadership commitment and a workforce equipped with skills in improvement science, safety, data, and change management. Quality is everyone’s responsibility. The competency framework can help organizations develop and validate those capabilities, while a broader range of clinicians, analysts, operational leaders, and technology professionals contribute to safer care.

Keywords

healthcare quality

patient safety

workforce burnout

quality improvement

healthcare leadership

care transitions

change management

competency framework