Health care administrators must proactively plan for changes that alter the health care environment. Trends that affect health care delivery are varied and arise from many different sources, such as the emergence of new technologies, changing patient and workforce demographics, economic fluctuations, and policy developments. In this Discussion, you and your colleagues will investigate trends that are likely to play a pivotal role in the ongoing transformation of health care delivery.

Choose one of the following topics on which to focus for this Discussion:

• Prevention and wellness
• Aging population
• Consumerism
• Accountability and governance
• Transparency
• Cost containment
• Technology
• Collaboration
• Medical tourism

Use the following resources to examine health care issues/trends for the Discussions this week:

• American College of Healthcare Executives. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2015, from http://www.ache.org
• American Hospital Association. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2015, from http://www.aha.org
• California Healthcare Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2015, from http://www.chcf.org
• The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2015, from http://www.kff.org
• Medical Group Management Association. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2015, from http://www.mgma.com
• National Institutes of Health. (n.d.). Health information. Retrieved March 27, 2015, from http://health.nih.gov/
• National Institute of Mental Health. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2015, from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml

Review the information provided on the websites included in the Learning Resources, and conduct additional research using  credible websites to assess current trends related to your selected topic.

Post by Day 3 a substantive and cohesive response to the following:

• Analyze trends related to your selected topic, including insights you have gained from the literature.

General Guidance on Discussion Posts: Your original post, due by Day 3, will typically be 3–4 paragraphs in length (not including references) as a general expectation/estimate. Refer to the Week 7 Discussion 1 Rubric for grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use the rubric to assess your work.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.