Skip to content
‹ Back to IndustriesHealthcare

A Powerful New Direction in Hospital Strategic Planning

Like any business, hospitals need strategic plans to chart their future. Rarely do they go smoothly, but with flexibility and agility, organizations can carefully navigate them. Jerry Darby, VP, Strategic Advisory Services at Covalus, shared his experiences and predictions for the space on Plan. Build. Equip. Darby has 30 years of healthcare planning consulting experience….

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Healthcare teams put it to work with Executive Thought Leadership.

Share
A Powerful New Direction in Hospital Strategic Planning

Free workspace

Turn your Healthcare expertise into content.

Record interviews, organize footage, and write with AI on a free trial of the MarketScale platform for qualifying companies. No demo required, no credit card.

Try it Free

Like any business, hospitals need strategic plans to chart their future. Rarely do they go smoothly, but with flexibility and agility, organizations can carefully navigate them. Jerry Darby, VP, Strategic Advisory Services at Covalus, shared his experiences and predictions for the space on Plan. Build. Equip.

Darby has 30 years of healthcare planning consulting experience. He started his career as a pharmacist working in retail and hospital pharmacies. An early challenge of helping a hospital regain its controlled substance license made him realize he wanted to be on the business side of the industry.

“Supporting hospitals in unique situations is interesting. I’ve worked with great people, and, as a consultant, you come into opportunities created by others,” Darby said.

Over the years, Darby has helped prominent hospitals like the Mayo Clinic and Mass General with planning. He explained the plan is just the first step. “You can create the best plan in the world, but with no way to implement it, it’s less likely to be successful.”

The process can be arduous and requires massive changes. “There are hard conversations, but flexibility must be part of the thing, because many things change, and you have to be able to adjust,” Darby added.

The most dramatic change for healthcare has been the pandemic. Darby recalled that some strategic plans had foresight. He mentioned transitioning from double patient rooms to single patient rooms, hospitals being more ICU ready, and other operational pieces.

Now, technology is where investment needs to go, including telehealth, remote monitoring, and ways to evaluate patients from a distance. Darby spoke about the next transition hurdle—being consumer-centric. “Hospitals need to orient around the consumer, and I think the pandemic is changing this and views on healthcare.”

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @MarketScale

Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale

LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Healthcare starts with a company putting its clinicians, service-line leaders, and field engineers on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

Service-line buyers vet vendors quietly, and your clinicians become the proof they find while doing it.

Book DemoSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.
B2B Weekly

The week in Healthcare, and sixteen other industries, every Monday.

Ten stories, one-line takes, five minutes. Free.

Healthcare: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Healthcare buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. Explore how your experts, customers, and partners can become useful content for buyers and AI search.

Free Trial

You just read one Healthcare expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your clinicians, service-line leaders, and field engineers into the articles, video, and social content Healthcare buyers are searching for. Start a free trial and see it with your own people. For qualifying companies, no credit card, no demo required.

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What your free trial includes

Hands-on access to the MarketScale platform
Media requests to your crowd, remote recording, AI writing tools
No demo required. No credit card.
For qualifying companies. Company confirmation required.

More Healthcare Insights

Rock Health: $7.4B went into digital health in H1 2026, and 20 rounds took 45%

Rock Health: $7.4B went into digital health in H1 2026, and 20 rounds took 45%

Rock Health: U.S. digital health startups raised $7.4 billion across 244 deals in H1 2026, up from $6.4 billion on 245 deals in H1 2025. The rebound is concentrated. Nineteen companies raised 20 $100 million-plus rounds that captured 45% of capital.

  • 01In H1 2026, 19 companies raised 20 mega-deals of $100 million or more, representing 45% of all capital invested, according to Rock Health.
  • 02According to Rock Health, the firm stopped labeling startups as “AI-enabled,” saying the technology is now too widespread for the label to be meaningful.

Sep 24, 2026

Medicare will pay up to $137.53 per case in 2027 for BriefCase‑Triage

Medicare will pay up to $137.53 per case in 2027 for BriefCase‑Triage

Radiology Business reported Medicare will pay a maximum of $137.53 per case in 2027 for BriefCase-Triage. Holland & Knight said hospitals will be eligible for NTAP reimbursement for use of Aidoc’s CARE Body CT Multi-Triage beginning Oct. 1, 2026, with supplemental payments continuing for three years.

  • 01Radiology Business reported Medicare will pay a maximum of $137.53 per case in 2027 for BriefCase-Triage.
  • 02Holland & Knight said CMS approved an NTAP designation for Aidoc’s CARE Body CT Multi-Triage, with hospitals eligible for NTAP reimbursement beginning Oct. 1, 2026, with supplemental payments continuing for three years.

Sep 23, 2026

Blair Health raises CAD $4.24M to expand its LLM-guided specialty care workflows

Blair Health raises CAD $4.24M to expand its LLM-guided specialty care workflows

Blair Health raised CAD $4.24 million in a pre-seed round, according to Fierce Healthcare. It plans to expand protocol-driven virtual specialty care across Canada and the U.S.

  • 01Blair Health raised CAD $4.24 million in pre-seed funding.
  • 02Qualified Health positions its AI platform around safety and governance, including clinician oversight, auditability and traceability, according to Fierce Healthcare.

Sep 23, 2026

Explore More Healthcare Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Healthcare.

Browse Healthcare Hub

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Healthcare and beyond.

Book a Demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512