Author: Maghan Burge
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How Small and Mid-Size Health Systems Can Compete in a Consolidating Market
Healthcare consolidation has been accelerating for more than a decade, and the trajectory shows no signs of reversing. Large health systems are acquiring hospitals, physician groups, and outpatient facilities at a pace that is reshaping the competitive landscape in markets across the country. For smaller and mid-size health systems — regional hospitals, independent practice associations, Read more
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Telehealth Integration Lessons: What Health Systems Are Still Getting Wrong
The rapid expansion of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic forced health systems to implement virtual care infrastructure faster than anyone thought possible. In a matter of weeks, organizations that had spent years deliberating about telehealth rollouts were conducting thousands of virtual visits. That experience taught the industry something important: implementation is possible at speed when Read more
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AI in Clinical Decision Support: Promise vs. Reality
The hype around artificial intelligence in healthcare has reached a point where it’s become difficult to have a clear-eyed conversation about what it actually does well and where it still falls short. Vendors are enthusiastic. Health system leaders are under pressure to appear innovative. And clinicians are often skeptical — not because they’re resistant to Read more
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Combating Clinician Burnout Through Smarter Workforce Planning
Clinician burnout is not a new problem, but the conversation around it has changed. For years, healthcare organizations treated burnout as a wellness issue — something to be addressed with mindfulness resources, resilience training, and EAP referrals. The data has made clear that this approach doesn’t work. Burnout is a systems problem. It’s driven by Read more
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Locum Tenens vs. Permanent Placement: Making the Right Staffing Decision for Your Practice
When a health system or practice is facing a staffing gap — whether from a sudden departure, a coverage expansion, or a prolonged recruitment challenge — the instinct is often to reach for the fastest available solution. Locum tenens fills that role well in many situations. But “fast” and “right” aren’t always the same thing, Read more
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Prior Authorization Reform: What Providers Need to Know Now
Prior authorization has long been one of the most frustrating friction points in healthcare — for providers, for patients, and for anyone who has watched a necessary treatment get delayed while paperwork winds through an insurer’s review queue. The good news is that meaningful reform is underway. The bad news is that reform doesn’t eliminate Read more
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What the Shifting Landscape of Medicaid Waivers Means for Health Systems
Medicaid waivers have always been one of the most powerful — and least understood — tools in healthcare policy. Through Section 1115 waivers and other flexibility mechanisms, states can reshape how Medicaid operates within their borders: who qualifies, what’s covered, how providers are paid, and how outcomes are measured. For health systems and provider organizations, Read more
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The Nurse Practitioner’s Role in Health Systems: Beyond the Exam Room
The conversation about nurse practitioners in healthcare has shifted considerably in recent years — but not enough. NPs are still too often discussed primarily in terms of access: as a solution to physician shortages in rural areas, or as a way to extend clinic hours. That framing, while not wrong, sells short what advanced practice Read more
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Why EHR Optimization Is Still Healthcare’s Most Undervalued Investment
Ask most health system leaders where they’d invest to improve operational efficiency and patient outcomes, and you’ll hear about AI tools, telehealth expansion, or workforce development. What you rarely hear is EHR optimization — even though poorly configured electronic health record systems are quietly undermining every other initiative on the list. We see this firsthand Read more
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What Federal Health Agencies Actually Need from Consulting Partners
Federal health programs operate in a distinct environment — one where compliance obligations, procurement cycles, and mission-critical outcomes intersect in ways that most commercial consulting models aren’t built to handle. At Anura Health Group, we work directly with agencies navigating these pressures, and what we’ve learned is this: the biggest gap isn’t technical capability. It’s Read more