SHSMD - Society for Health Care Strategy and Market Development

SHSMD - Society for Health Care Strategy and Market Development Serving 3,700+ members, SHSMD, a professional membership group of the American Hospital Association

Who We Are
The Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development (SHSMD), a personal membership group of the American Hospital Association, is the largest and most prominent voice and resource for healthcare provider-based planners, marketers, and communications/public relations practitioners nationwide. SHSMD hosts the largest and most comprehensive annual conference, with over 1000 attendees. We offer such unique and respected staples as the annual Futurescan environmental assessment and the By the Numbers benchmarking study, as well as three listservs, electronic and print newsletters, a job posting service, and other valuable resources. More than 4,000 healthcare strategy professionals have chosen to become members of SHSMD, reflecting our singular status in the field. Our Mission—Why we exist
The mission of the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development, a personal membership group of the American Hospital Association, is to provide healthcare planning, marketing, and communications professionals with the most highly valued resources for professional development. Our Brand Promise—Where we are going
As a reflection of the changing healthcare environment and the intensifying pressures on healthcare strategy professionals, and in response to comprehensive research on our members’ needs, SHSMD is proud to unveil a new brand promise. Through the process of listening to our members, as well as thoughtful introspection, we have clarified who we are and where we desire to go as an organization. Our members told us how we could serve them better, and we plan to deliver. We have opened a dialogue with our members that we plan to keep open on an ongoing basis to continue to add value to SHSMD membership. SHSMD’s brand promise reflects a renewed commitment to our members, along with newly developed resources that will empower our members to perform at a higher level. By launching new resources—such as special interest group communities, back-to-basics workshops, and expanded benchmarking and best-practice studies—while retaining the best of current resources, SHSMD intends to demonstrate a heightened sense of responsiveness to members’ need for just-in-time resources.

Most health care leaders are tracking dozens of trends right now. The real challenge is deciding which ones should actua...
02/18/2026

Most health care leaders are tracking dozens of trends right now. The real challenge is deciding which ones should actually change your strategy.

As futurist Jeff Goldsmith puts it,
“Medicine is a human service. It’s the human part we have to get right.”

That lens matters right now.

Access, consumer expectations, workforce strain, and retail competition are all accelerating. But the systems that win will be the ones that translate those forces into a more human, more trusted care experience, not just a more efficient one.

On March 11, 2026 at 12:00 PM CT, Jeff Goldsmith will break down the Futurescan 2026 trends that matter most and what they mean for your next set of strategic decisions across access, trust, workforce, and growth.

This is not a trend list. It is a strategic briefing on what deserves your attention next.

Register: https://ow.ly/UFYT50YhHt9

Open to members and non-members.

Strong health care organizations start with confident, well-informed teams.Orientation to Health Care does more than tea...
02/17/2026

Strong health care organizations start with confident, well-informed teams.

Orientation to Health Care does more than teach concepts. It strengthens how people work together.

For individuals:
• Faster onboarding in health care roles
• More confidence in meetings and cross-functional conversations
• Fewer misunderstandings and clearer communication

For organizations:
• Reduced ramp-up time for early career staff
• Stronger collaboration across departments
• Better alignment between strategy, marketing, and operations

If your team includes early career professionals, career switchers, or non-clinical staff, this course can make an immediate difference in how effectively they contribute.

Explore the course:
https://ow.ly/qN2s50Yhfh9

SHSMD is seeking the next group of leaders who will help guide our profession and shape the future of health care strate...
02/16/2026

SHSMD is seeking the next group of leaders who will help guide our profession and shape the future of health care strategy, marketing and communications.

Nominations are open for 2027 SHSMD leadership roles, including:
• Advisory Board
• Strategic Fellow
• President-Elect

This is your opportunity to contribute your expertise, represent your peers and help drive meaningful change within SHSMD and across the field.

Whether you have someone in mind or you are ready to take the next step in your own leadership journey, we encourage you to get involved.

Nominations are open through March 6, 2026

Learn more about the roles and process:
https://ow.ly/nqRQ50YfkQq

Submit a nomination:
https://ow.ly/p6im50YfkQr

02/10/2026

Health care is brilliant, important, and complicated.

If you are early in your career, it can also feel like everyone else already speaks the language.

Orientation to Health Care is built for that exact moment.

Participants leave with:
• A clear mental model for how the U.S. health care system works
• Fluency with common terms and acronyms
• A better understanding of how hospitals, physicians, payers, and consumers interact

This is not about memorizing definitions. It is about gaining context so you can participate confidently, ask sharper questions, and move faster in your role.

Learn more about Orientation to Health Care:
https://ow.ly/2w1N50YcnEk

If you are planning your MarCom budget or staffing this year, Panel 1 of SHSMD’s By the Numbers: MarCom can save you tim...
02/06/2026

If you are planning your MarCom budget or staffing this year, Panel 1 of SHSMD’s By the Numbers: MarCom can save you time and guesswork.

In about five minutes, you share a small set of budget and team data and get access to health care specific benchmarks that help you see how your organization compares with similar hospitals, health systems, and medical groups. Many teams use these benchmarks to pressure test budget assumptions, justify resource requests, and ground leadership conversations in peer data instead of anecdotes.

If you have not completed Panel 1 yet, now is a good moment to do it.

Start Panel 1 here: https://ow.ly/wbrS50YanZ2

Join Jeff Goldsmith on March 11 at noon CT for SHSMD’s Futurescan 2026 Webinar. In just one hour, Jeff will share key in...
02/05/2026

Join Jeff Goldsmith on March 11 at noon CT for SHSMD’s Futurescan 2026 Webinar. In just one hour, Jeff will share key insights from the latest Futurescan report—covering global health trends, access and disparities, hospital price transparency, retail health, and the next leadership challenges ahead.

With decades of experience advising health systems and a knack for turning complex trends into actionable strategy, Jeff offers a clear view of what’s next for health care leaders.

Open to members and non-members.
Register here: https://ow.ly/n8Bc50Y9yZG

Are you making AI decisions based on vibes, vendor decks, or what your peers are actually doing? If you are a health car...
02/04/2026

Are you making AI decisions based on vibes, vendor decks, or what your peers are actually doing? If you are a health care MarCom leader, that answer matters more than you think.

Here is the truth most of us know but rarely say out loud. AI is moving faster than our org charts, our budgets, and sometimes our comfort level. The question is not whether your team is experimenting with AI, it is how your approach compares to everyone else in the field. That is exactly why By the Numbers: MarCom exists.

For 2026, SHSMD has added a dedicated AI panel so you can see, in real data, how teams like yours are thinking about tools, staffing, governance, and day to day use. Not hype, not marketing speak, just real benchmarks from real health care organizations.

But none of this works without you. The dataset gets stronger only when leaders contribute. Panel 1 takes about five minutes, and your input helps shape a resource the entire profession relies on.

If you want to stop guessing and start comparing with confidence, begin here.

Take the survey
https://ow.ly/p3LB50Y8PxJ

Curious what BTN offers beyond the survey? Learn more here.
https://ow.ly/YlNv50Y8PxH

Let us build a smarter benchmark together.

Benchmark data is only valuable if you can actually use it.By the Numbers: MarCom was built for real planning conversati...
02/03/2026

Benchmark data is only valuable if you can actually use it.

By the Numbers: MarCom was built for real planning conversations, not static reports. After contributing your data, subscribers can filter results by system size, structure, and priorities, then export visuals ready for leadership discussions.

Teams use these benchmarks to defend budgets, validate staffing, align priorities, and save time building executive decks.

It all starts with completing Panel 1 of the survey. Contributors receive a comparison, and subscribers unlock the full dashboard.

Complete the survey:
https://ow.ly/zi2150Y8rUH

Explore subscriber access:
https://ow.ly/7EIE50Y8rUG

Just five minutes to benchmark your MarCom budget.By the Numbers: MarCom replaces guesswork with real, blinded benchmark...
02/02/2026

Just five minutes to benchmark your MarCom budget.

By the Numbers: MarCom replaces guesswork with real, blinded benchmarks from health care organizations like yours. Complete a quick survey to contribute your data and compare your budget, staffing, and priorities against peers in the field.

Your input helps build trusted, health care specific benchmarks on budgets, staffing, tools, and channels. Subscribers also unlock a full interactive dashboard with filters and export ready visuals for leadership discussions.

Take five minutes today to strengthen your planning and the industry benchmark.

Start the survey: https://ow.ly/3Kvh50Y7QjF

Nominations for the 2027 SHSMD Advisory Board, Strategic Fellow, and President-Elect are open through March 6, 2026.If y...
02/02/2026

Nominations for the 2027 SHSMD Advisory Board, Strategic Fellow, and President-Elect are open through March 6, 2026.

If you are a SHSMD member with a strong commitment to health care strategy, this is your opportunity to help shape the future of the Society and the profession. You can nominate yourself or a colleague.

Learn more and submit a nomination here: https://ow.ly/hI4A50Y7LIv

The Futurescan 2026 print edition is now available, offering data informed insight into the trends shaping health care s...
01/20/2026

The Futurescan 2026 print edition is now available, offering data informed insight into the trends shaping health care strategy over the next five years. Many organizations use the print guide to support leadership and board level planning conversations.

To go deeper, join SHSMD’s Futurescan 2026 webinar on March 11, featuring futurist Jeff Goldsmith, PhD, for practical perspective on what these trends mean for health care leaders.

Explore the print edition:
https://ow.ly/Fhqm50Y0ix2

Register for the webinar:
https://ow.ly/7P2750Y0hZn

Proposal Deadline ExtendedThe SHSMD Connections 2026 proposal deadline is now January 22 at 11:59 p.m. CT.Use the extra ...
01/16/2026

Proposal Deadline Extended

The SHSMD Connections 2026 proposal deadline is now January 22 at 11:59 p.m. CT.

Use the extra time to refine your idea and submit workshop, concurrent session, or virtual session proposals focused on practical takeaways in strategy, marketing, communications, digital engagement, innovation, leadership, and data driven insights.

Quick reminders:
• Up to two proposals per organization
• Educational, non promotional content only
• All submissions must go through the portal
• Speakers notified by May 15, 2026

Proposal details and start your submission: https://ow.ly/3Vfi50XY45u

Interested in sponsoring or exhibiting?
Explore opportunities in the SHSMD Connections sponsorship and exhibit media kit.
https://ow.ly/Az2w50XY45r

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Chicago, IL
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