Forty is an age when individuals and organizations reflect on the foibles and achievements of their youth and look ahead to the next four decades of life and service. And so it is for Modern Healthcare.
When Crain Communications bought Modern Healthcare in 1976, our first cover featured the headline, “Who's prowling the corridor? Murder, unauthorized access challenge hospital police units.” The news section covered President Gerald Ford signing the Indian Health Care Improvement Act.
Fast forward to 2016. Modern Healthcare may still cover security issues like “Healthcare struggles to recruit top cybersecurity pros,” as a recent headline stated. But data points such as the $8.6 billion in annual direct medical costs associated with gun violence reveal one of the harsh new realities of our age.
The pathways to our priorities have changed, too. Modern Healthcare's coverage in 2016 is peppered with fresh terms and opportunities—from wearable tracking devices, enterprise data warehouses and 3-D printing, to value-based purchasing, population health management and predictive analytics. Healthcare executives are able to access a toolkit of strategies, best practices and technologies few could have envisioned in 1976.
Throughout all the shifts and transitions, one constant for Modern Healthcare is our promise to deliver trusted news and insights on healthcare providers, insurance, government, finance, technology, safety and quality and more. We also continue to cover the people and institutions that make healthcare delivery possible.
Another constant is that our people will remain the lifeblood of Modern Healthcare. Our savvy team of reporters and editors once covered the launch of HMOs, the eradication of smallpox and the expansion of cancer research at the National Institutes of Health. Today, our 28-member team covers issues that include electronic health record safety, MACRA implementation, and hospital preparedness for mass casualty events such as the recent shootings in Orlando, Fla.
We could not have thrived over the past 40 years without our loyal readers—the C-suite executives who share the conversational tidbits that often morph into breakthrough stories. These leaders offer our reporters and editors their knowledge, experience and perspective on issues that include layoffs, data breaches, hospital closures and Medicare fraud, as well as quality and safety initiatives, technology innovations and best practices. Their quotes bring an invaluable layer of specificity, candor and clarity to Modern Healthcare's coverage.
The epic saga of American healthcare will continue. And so will Modern Healthcare. We strive to remain “the leader in healthcare business news, research and data.” We pledge to never stop looking for new, intriguing ways to serve our readers, advertisers, sponsors and the entire healthcare community.
Join us as we embark on our second 40-year quest to find and disseminate the most credible healthcare news, information and insight available.
My heartfelt thanks to our readers, sources, advertisers, customers, business partners and vendors for your continued trust and support. I'm also grateful to the Modern Healthcare team—the most talented, dedicated and hardest-working staff that any media company could ever hope for. Thank you.
