2025 Annual Conference
Health Systems Track
Even high-performing systems encounter challenges arising from the integration of hospital and physician enterprises, such as managing throughput, care transitions, system-wide awareness, change management, financial sustainability, access, and workforce issues. The Health Systems track at AC25 will offer an enhanced platform for in-depth discussions and solution sharing, aimed at driving value creation and promoting a more collaborative, efficient healthcare ecosystem.
Health Systems Track - Leadership and Governance
Friday, March 28
Joseph Baglio, MBA, Senior Vice President, Eastern Region Ambulatory Services; Armando Castro-Tié, MD, Senior Vice President, Eastern Region Ambulatory Physician Executive; Cindy Maher, Associate Executive Director, Site HR Officer, Eastern Region Ambulatory Services; and
Jeffrey Musmacher, Assistant Vice President, Operations, Eastern Region Ambulatory Services, Northwell Health
Hospitals and physicians have used a service line approach for decades in an effort to provide efficient, high-quality care to well-defined patient populations. During this interactive session, speakers will explore the decision to move from a service line to a regionalized model and the impact this transformation has made in areas such as access, quality, patient experience, engagement, finance, and business development. The presentation will also provide guidance for leaders on navigating structural transformations and emphasizing key programs and quality improvement initiatives, to meet the CMS ACO quality screening measures.
Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
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Lead thoughtfully through structural transformations to better serve patient and community needs
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Build nimble and high-performing teams that embrace change and drive positive results
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Foster collaborative and integrative relationships between medical groups and acute care facilities to provide robust, complementary services for patients within a geographic area and develop a culture of trust and engagement that prioritizes the team member, physician, and patient experience
Dan Liljenquist, Chief Strategy Officer, Intermountain Health
In the rapidly evolving landscape of healthcare, maintaining a strong and cohesive organizational culture is essential for achieving excellence in patient care and operational efficiency, especially in a growing organization. This session will explore strategies and best practices for sustaining your organizational culture amidst the pressures of a changing healthcare environment, drawing on the experiences and successes of Intermountain Health. Through the use of table conversations, participants will begin creating tactics and strategies to position and sustain an organization’s culture as a vital cornerstone that will drive performance, engagement, and patient satisfaction.
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:
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Identify the critical components of a strong organizational culture and its impact on patient care, operational efficiency, and employee engagement
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Analyze real-world examples from Intermountain Healthcare to understand how to manage cultural continuity during periods of transformation
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Examine the role of leadership in fostering a resilient organizational culture and maintaining clear, open communication during change
Steven Kalkanis, MD, EVP, Henry Ford Health, CEO, Henry Ford Medical Group, and CEO, Henry Ford Hospital
As AI technologies continue to evolve and become integrated into clinical and administrative processes, it is crucial to adopt robust governance frameworks that ensure ethical implementation, data integrity, and compliance. In this interactive session, Dr. Kalkanis will delve into common challenges encountered in AI integration, such as data privacy, algorithmic bias, and regulatory compliance, and explore strategies to overcome these hurdles. Participants will engage in group discussions to share insights and develop actionable best practices for implementing AI governance within a healthcare organization.
Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
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Recognize the importance of robust governance frameworks in the successful integration of AI technologies in healthcare settings
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Utilize insights gained from the session to create a framework that ensures ethical implementation, data integrity, and regulatory compliance in AI systems
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Explore methods for promoting a culture of responsible AI use within your organization, ensuring that all stakeholders are aligned with governance objectives
Health Systems Track - AI & Tech Innovation
Friday, March 28
Michael Mason, MD, Medical Director for Geriatrics, Continuing Care and Complex Needs and Joanna Mroz, MS, MPH, Director for Geriatrics, Continuing Care and Complex Needs, The Permanente Medical Group, Kaiser Permanente
Explore how AI and team-based care are transforming the future of healthcare for complex needs patients within this interactive session showcasing a groundbreaking program that leverages AI, predictive analytics, and an interdisciplinary care team to improve outcomes for complex needs patients.
By utilizing a predictive algorithm, the program identifies patients with modifiable barriers to care and proactively assigns them to a specialized care team, including nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and coordinators, based on their needs. The use of this AI-powered alert system that continuously monitors patients has been shown to prevent unnecessary ED visits and hospitalizations. Also to be shared in this session are the results from a one-year Randomized Control Trial, including a $2.6 million net cost saving per team, showing how this program has demonstrated its ability to improve care for overburdened PCPs and reduce hospital utilization.
Attendees will engage through interactive polling on topics such as the challenges of managing complex patients and social determinants of health, as well as key program components such as predictive analytics and interdisciplinary care.
Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
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Explain how to use AI to leverage data in the EMR to pinpoint patients who would benefit from specific social health interventions
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Design efficient longitudinal model of care to support patients with complex need
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Describe how advance alerts can lead teams to proactively outreach to patients at risk of decline
Mary Jo Williamson, MBA, Chief Administrative Officer of Mayo Collaborative Services; and Rachel L. Pringnitz, MBA, Vice Chair, Administration Outpatient Practice Operations, Mayo Clinic
This presentation will demonstrate the transformative power of implementing automation and AI solutions to optimize access. By showcasing real-world examples, including how Mayo saved over 6,000 hours of phone time, the presenters will highlight the significant impact of these technologies on efficiency and operational streamlining. Participants will be actively engaged as we present a framework to assess whether automation or AI solutions are suitable for their specific tasks. We will also discuss how these tools can simplify operations by minimizing noncritical tasks and utilizing automation scorecards and forecasting tools to boost practice success.
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to
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Identify tasks within their access strategy that are ideal for AI and automation solutions
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Describe which tasks may require further evaluation to determine the best approach
Health Systems Track - Finance/Operations
Friday, March 28
Mark A. LePage, MD, SVP of Medical Groups and Ambulatory Strategy, Trinity Health; Michael Prisby, MBA, Vice President of Strategic Financial Planning, Trinity Health; Fusen Li, MCIS, Director of Business Intelligence, Trinity Health Medical Group, Trinity Health; and Michael Moran, President and Chief Operating Officer, Trinity Health Mount Carmel Medical Group
Traditional income statements, built for financial accounting purposes, do not provide insight into which operational drivers need to be addressed to improve operational and financial performance. These statements tell us the bottom line but are particularly poor at telling us anything about the financial and operational performance of medical groups, where even at the 75th percentile of performance, groups with primary care still lose over $1,700 per physician.
In this session, speakers will address the inadequacies of standard financial reporting in accurately assessing medical group financial performance and, more importantly, in providing actionable information to drive the next best action to drive improved financial performance. The methodology shared will be applicable to other components of the healthcare system, including as hospitals.
Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
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Explain the importance of managing the operational and financial performance of medical groups
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Demonstrate how to assess the financial and operational performance of the medical group and apply the methodology to identify and execute on the most impactful “lever” to improve medical group financial and operational performance
Marijka Grey, MD, MBA, FACP, System VP for Ambulatory Transformation & Innovation; Derek Hartman, Physician Enterprise System Director of Operations & Process Transformation; Anne Wright, PA-C, System Director of Advanced Practice Ambulatory Care Operations, CommonSpirit Health
This session is ideal for leaders seeking actionable strategies to enhance practice efficiency, support clinician well-being, and foster sustainable improvements in care delivery. Participants will learn about CommonSpirit Health’s Optimizing Clinical Care Council, which developed a collaborative structure aimed at reducing administrative burdens and improving the wellbeing of physicians and Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) while sustaining high-quality patient care.
The session will address four practical, evidence-based interventions designed to streamline clinical workflows and connect practices with national resources, including coaches and process improvement experts. The initiative resulted in significant time savings for providers, better team efficiency, and reduced provider burnout, providing the empowerment and renewed sense of ownership for clinicians through these interventions.
Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
- Describe interventions developed to address burnout and improve wellbeing, including their design and implementation process
- Explore the benefits of implementing specific interventions such as Team Based EHR In-Basket Management, 90 days + 4 Annual Prescription Medication Renewals, Note Bloat, and Pre-Visit Planning
- Explain the outcomes achieved by practices participating in the collaborative, including reductions in in-basket volume, time savings, and improvements in patient care
- Outline the support structure provided to participating teams, including coaching calls, office hours, and project management steps to facilitate successful implementation and ongoing improvement efforts
Mark A. LePage, MD, SVP of Medical Groups and Ambulatory Strategy; LeMark Payne, Director of Operations, Trinity Health Medical Group; Fusen Li, MCIS, Director of Business Intelligence, Trinity Health Medical Group; Amy Tschopp, Lead Data Analyst, Trinity Health Medical Group, Trinity Health
Traditional metrics for assessing access to care often fail to capture the true needs and preferences of patients, especially established ones. This session will introduce a more patient-centered method for measuring and improving access in ambulatory care settings. Using innovative tools such as Epic MyChart and Qualtrics SMS text surveys to gather real-time data on whether patients received appointments at their desired times, Trinity increased prospective MyChart access measure by 10 percentage points to 67.2%. Attendees will learn about the operational strategies, metrics, and outcomes that drove these improvements, and explore future plans for sustaining access gains through tools such as physician dashboards that balance patient demand with available capacity. Discover how a patient-centric approach to access transform healthcare delivery and enhance patient satisfaction, which could provide your organization with similar results.
Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
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Describe the limitations of using standard measures of access
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Explain the use of new technology to better directly assess in real-time success in meeting patients’ stated access desires
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Compare and contrast bias in the numerical measure of access based on whether the question is asked prospectively or retrospectively to the appointment actually being made
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Implement action steps that will drive improved access to care
Health Systems Track - Exploring Value
Friday, March 28
Reshma Gupta, MD, MSHPM, Chief of Population Health & Accountable Care; Vanessa McElroy, MSN, ACM-RN PHN, IQCI, Director, Care Transitions and Population Health Care Management; and Georgia McGlynn, RN, MSN-CNL, CPHQ, Manager, Population Health & Accountable Care, University of California Davis Health
In this session, leaders from University of California Davis Health will present a comprehensive framework for achieving an estimated $3.9 million yearly in cost savings and improving patient outcomes by integrating care management across the healthcare continuum. While reducing healthcare spending is a key goal for health systems, national models continue to face challenges in driving significant cost reductions. Delivering value-based care requires a holistic understanding of the complex ecosystems patients navigate, which involve multiple transitions among hospital, primary, specialty, and community care.
Participants in this session will explore common barriers to integration, discuss missteps that can hinder progress, and highlight successes in building an interconnected care management system that spans inpatient and community settings. Through real-world examples and insights from national models such as CPC+, presenters will show how integrated care management can ultimately lead to cost savings and improved patient health, particularly in maintaining health at home.
Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
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Discuss an approach to map care management needs across a health system by defining patient populations and stratifying them by level of risk and areas of need
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Design a framework to bridge care management silos across a matrixed health system
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Describe engrained barriers to making systemwide change across care management in their own organization and ways to begin creating culture change
Health Systems Track - Streamlining Patient Care
Friday, March 28
Shadi Jarjous, MD, Chief, Division of Hospital Medicine and Vice Chair, Operations, Department of Emergency & Hospital Medicine; Satinder P Singh MD, FACP, FHM, Medical Director - Acute Care Bridge Clinic; Molly Thompson Chavez, MHL, Administrator of Operational Excellence; and Bernice Vitug, MHA, Manager, Transitions of Care, Lehigh Valley Physician Group
Managing transitions of care (TOC) is a common challenge for health systems. In this interactive session, leaders from Lehigh Valley Physician Group will explore the critical role of timely TOC appointments in reducing readmission rates and improving patient outcomes after hospital discharge. The organization revamped its approach by streamlining TOC outreach, standardizing scheduling algorithms, and collaborating with practice leadership to reserve TOC slots based on discharge volumes. These efforts resulted in improvement in the seven-day follow-up rate from 25% to 51% across all risk levels and a 170% increase in TCM billing payments, among other impressive improvements.
The session will provide valuable insights into overcoming challenges such as provider availability and competing organizational priorities, ultimately demonstrating how timely TOC appointments lead to better patient outcomes and reduced readmissions.
Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
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List transition of care challenges faced by a large health system
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Describe countermeasures for a multifaceted, patient-centric approach to transition of care
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Identify collaboration tactics to succeed across the health system
Bedri Yusuf, MD, MBA, Chief Physician Executive, Northeast Georgia Physicians Group
Effectively managing transitions of care is crucial to ensuring patient safety, continuity, and quality outcomes. Inspired by the precision and coordination of air traffic control settings, Dr. Yusuf will introduce a structured, high-efficiency method for overseeing transitions of care, aimed at minimizing disruptions and enhancing patient experiences to ensure that every patient journey is well coordinated and seamlessly executed. Participants will be equipped with a structured, high-efficiency approach to managing transitions of care, with practical tools and strategies to ensure well-coordinated and seamless patient journeys in their healthcare organizations.
Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
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Recognize how air traffic control principles can be effectively adapted to manage transitions of care in a healthcare setting
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Discuss methods for continuous evaluation and optimization to enhance the quality and efficiency of patient care transitions
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Collaborate to develop and refine actionable strategies for managing transitions effectively in your own healthcare setting
Health Systems Track - Addressing Workforce Challenges
Friday, March 28
Tim Watson, Vice President, Physician & APC Recruitment and Michelle Stultz, RN, CPMSM, CPCS, FMSP; Vice President, CVO & Provider Enrollment, Bon Secours Mercy Health, Inc.
In this session, leaders will present the transformative journey of Bon Secours Mercy Health, Inc. (BSMH) to reimagine the provider onboarding process, shifting from a siloed, inefficient system to a streamlined, centralized model. Historically, new providers faced a fragmented experience with multiple overlapping requests from various teams, leading to delays in credentialing and revenue loss. The average target start date prior to this project was undershot by 30 days, equating to a loss of nearly $90,000 for each provider not started by their target start date. BSMH responded by redesigning the onboarding process with a focus on improving the provider’s experience while reducing inefficiencies for internal teams. Results from the pilot program showed a successful onboarding of all pilot providers with their original start dates, and enrollment into health plans 10 days earlier, enhancing revenues as well as both provider and stakeholder experiences. Provider satisfaction surveys have consistently scored 9–10 out of 10. Participants in this session will walk away with practical tools, workflows, and templates.
Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
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Describe the impact a clearly defined onboarding program has on improving the provider experience
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Explain the impact a clearly defined onboarding program has on overall financial reimbursement
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Define the importance of collaboration and partnership among the various supporting teams and their improved experience as well
W. Michael Ellerbe, MD, Associate Medical Director, Ochsner Health
In response to data showing that 62% of one of their clinic's primary care site’s medical advice messages required direct provider responses, Ochsner Health developed and implemented a two-tier centralized virtual team-based care model to streamline message resolution resulting in a reduction in messages to physicians by up to 88%. Participants in this session will learn how a virtual team-based care model can enhance messaging workflows, reduce provider burden, and improve patient care.
Dr. Ellerbee will describe how this innovative approach aims to alleviate provider workload and improve patient communication efficiency while sharing up-to-date results of this program. Early data show 82% of inbox inquiries were resolved at the nurse level, significantly reducing downstream workload. Only 6% of cases needed escalation to the virtual provider pool, and just 12% required a response from the primary care provider, spread across 19 providers in the pilot. This session will highlight the framework, outcomes, and next steps for refining data analysis and further optimizing the process.
Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
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Utilize frontline staff (MA, LPN) to filter messages to correct area of care
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Use a system to reduce the number of messages coming to the physician in-basket
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Distribute new change management tools after discussing learnings from a successful roll out to a large group of physicians in several geographic regions
As healthcare systems strive to meet growing patient demands and address access challenges, effective recruitment of healthcare professionals becomes a central strategy. This session will explore the strategic decisions and best practices that have enabled Northern California-based Sutter Health to improve patient access by attracting, retaining and effectively integrating hundreds of skilled providers into their organization. Learn about common challenges, critical investments, successful recruitment strategies and the pivotal role culture plays in an organization’s ability to recruit, retain and engage top talent. By attending this session, you will gain valuable insights into how healthcare organizations can effectively address physician shortages, enhance access to care and improve patient outcomes.
Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
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Explore effective recruitment strategies to attract and retain skilled healthcare professionals, enhancing overall patient access
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Identify critical investments necessary for successful recruitment and retention, including training, technology, and support systems
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Examine best practices for effectively integrating new healthcare providers into the organization to ensure smooth transitions and high levels of engagement