Radio Advisory

For years, healthcare leaders have debated whether the industry faces a true physician shortage or simply a physician capacity problem. But as physicians near retirement, workforce fatigue persists, and organizations struggle to recruit providers fast enough to meet growing demand, that debate is taking on new urgency. In this episode, hosts Rae Woods and Abby Burns sit down with Advisory Board expert Daniel Kuzmanovich to revisit a prediction they made nearly a decade ago: that healthcare could avoid a physician shortage if organizations redesigned care delivery and deployed care teams differently. Together, they unpack what has changed in the physician workforce since then, why advanced practice providers may be healthcare's greatest untapped source of clinical capacity, and how leaders should balance workforce strategy, care model redesign, and AI investments as they plan for the future of care delivery. We’re here to help: Expert Insight | 5 ways hospitals can build a more flexible physician workforce Report | Solving the CV clinician shortage without sacrificing margin Research | Provider operations Tool | Clinician Supply Profiler Sponsor link: 2026 Strategic Planning Survey A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.

While most health plans have at least begun testing AI tools to improve operational efficiency, a far smaller number have moved beyond pilot stage. The challenge is not merely adopting AI – it is deciding which processes to reimagine and which solutions merit investment; doing the work of embedding solutions in end-to-end workflows; measuring success; and, crucially, establishing the organizational alignment needed to generate value at scale. In this episode, host Rae Woods sits down with Troy Anderson, Vice President of Payer Solutions at Optum.ai, and Sally Kim, Advisory Board health plan expert. They talk about why payment integrity and member experience are rising to the top of health plans’ priority list for deploying AI, and how regional plans can learn from larger organizations, focus on proven value, and avoid costly mistakes in the early stages of investment and deployment. We’re here to help: Expert Insight | How health plans can tackle rising administrative costs Webinar | How health plans are using AI to deliver a better member experience Webinar | The AI arms race: How health plans are responding in payment integrity Episode | Ep. 313: Inside Sutter Health's playbook for scaling AI Episode | Ep. 228: Avoiding ‘pilot purgatory’ in remote patient monitoring Research | AI in healthcare: Evaluating promising use cases Research | Health plan strategy Get in touch | Simplifying healthcare with AI | Optum Playbook | Your playbook for developing an AI governance strategy Ready-to-Use Resource| How to take a problem-first approach to AI Playlist | Explore Radio Advisory’s Tech & AI playlist for expert insights on innovation and the future of healthcare A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.

Healthcare organizations may be investing in AI, but many struggle to advance use cases beyond a single specialty, site, or workflow. At Sutter Health, leaders approached AI not as a series of technology pilots, but as a systemwide operational challenge. They set out to ensure that investments in AI centered on supporting clinicians across the enterprise before, during, and after patient visits. Today, more than 6,000 clinicians use ambient listening technology, generating more than five million clinical notes. Reaching that level of adoption required much more than selecting the right tool. In this episode, host Rachel (Rae) Woods speaks with Dr. Veena Jones, Chief Medical Informatics Officer at Sutter Health, about what it takes to move beyond siloed experimentation and actually scale AI across an enterprise. They explore how thoughtful governance, meaningful multistakeholder feedback loops, and a “good enough to scale” mindset can turn promising technology into a sustainable capability that supports clinicians and patients. We’re here to help: Case Study | How Sutter Health scaled AI to support clinicians system-wide Episode | Ep. 228: Avoiding ‘pilot purgatory’ in remote patient monitoring Playbook | Your playbook for developing an AI governance strategy Research | AI in healthcare: Evaluating promising use cases Ready-to-Use Resource | How to take a problem-first approach to AI Subscribe to The Daily Briefing, a must-read newsletter for thousands of healthcare executives across the nation. A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.

Health systems across the country started calling Advisory Board with the same question: Why are our volumes down? In this episode, Abby Burns, Clare Wirth, and Vidal Seegobin walk through what happened after our research team dug into the data to find out whether those concerns were isolated incidents or part of a broader national trend. What they found raises a much bigger question than whether volumes are down today: What if they're not coming back the way we've assumed they would? Together, they debate the forces reshaping demand, from affordability pressures and coverage losses to site-of-care shifts and changing patient behavior. They also explore what the findings mean for health system growth strategies and why organizations may need to shift their focus from capturing volume to competing on access. We’re here to help: Podcast | 303: The hard truths behind the fight for commercial volumes Playlist | Provider Strategy and Financial Outlook Expert insight | What’s really behind the drop in hospital volumes? Report | Which services are most at risk of leaving the hospital? Research | Market trends and growth strategy Tools | Get in touch with a representative to learn more about Advisory Board's Market Intelligence tool Sponsor link: Webinar | Building financial sustainability in specialty pharmacy A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.

For years, the story of ambulatory surgery centers was all about moving care out of the hospital. But the most important ASC trend today isn't growth. It's variation. Organizations are using ambulatory surgery centers to pursue very different goals. Some view ASCs as a way to relieve inpatient capacity. Others are trying to lower costs, protect market share, recruit physicians, expand access, or create room for more complex hospital care. And those strategies can vary dramatically depending on the service line, ownership model, market dynamics, and state policy environment. In this episode, host Rae Woods talks with Advisory Board researchers Nick Hula, Gaby Marmolejos, and Rachael Peroutky about why no two ASC strategies look exactly alike, and how healthcare leaders can determine the right role for ASCs in their market. We’re here to help: Webinar | How to design an ASC-specific commercial strategy Report | Site-of-care shifts 2026: Inside the latest trends and data Report | Which services are most at risk of leaving the hospital? Quick Guide | Guide to today's top orthopedic trends Report | Supplier playbook for developing an ASC commercial strategy Episode | 291: If you build it, will they buy it? The new rules for proving value in life sciences Sponsor link: Webinar | Value-based care demystified Sponsor link: Report | 4 ways health systems are pursuing lab growth A transcript of this episode as well as more information and resources can be found on RadioAdvisory.advisory.com.