Of the many forces transforming our nation’s healthcare system, none is more significant than the turn from payment based on volume to payment based on value. Value is driving a fundamental reorientation of the healthcare system around the quality and cost-effectiveness of care, for, as in any industry, value in healthcare is defined through the relationship of these two factors: the quality of care and the price paid for it.

In this special section, Richard L. Clarke, D.H.A., FHFMA, president and CEO of Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), explores what hospitals and health systems can do to prepare for a value-based future. Over the past year, HFMA conducted interviews with leading providers and surveys of the field to define the current state and future directions of value in healthcare. Findings from this research form the basis of the recommendations for hospital and health system governance in this article.