In Advancing the Transition to a High-Performance Rural Health System, the RUPRI Health Panel discusses strategies and options for creating a pathway to a transformed, high-performing rural health system. This paper builds on the RUPRI Health Panel’s earlier paper that conceptually defined the core elements of a high-performance rural health system. We have also incorporated into our discussion many of the ideas and insights gained from a forum of rural health leaders and practitioners convened in May 2014. The paper is intended to foster action, but does not prescribe specific policy actions or delve into details of particular policies or initiatives already being implemented. Through this discussion, we hope to inform rural health system transformation efforts by:
• Describing the essential elements of a high performing rural health system;
• Highlighting different approaches that embody the elements and principles of high-performance systems and illustrating strategies for achieving them;
• Discussing the system governance challenges and options needed to implement key strategies and options; and
• Presenting the Panel’s assessment of policy and other options for advancing the transition to a high-performance system.
Prepared by RUPRI Health Panel Members Charles Alfero, MA; Andrew F. Coburn, PhD; Jennifer P. Lundblad PhD, MBA; A. Clinton MacKinney, MD, MS; Timothy D. McBride, PhD; Keith J. Mueller, PhD; and Guest Author Paula Weigel, PhD,
