Modern Healthcare's Healthcare Insider Podcast

As health systems expand their ambulatory networks, deciding where to grow is only part of the challenge. Leaders also must determine where to invest limited capital, how to structure deals and what it takes to manage a growing network efficiently. How can health systems turn ambulatory expansion into sustainable growth? In this episode of Healthcare Insider, sponsored by JLL, Matt Coursen, U.S. Healthcare Lead, Leasing Advisory, and Marsha McVicker, principal, Solutions Development, Work Dynamics, at JLL, discuss the decisions that shape successful ambulatory strategies. Listen for insights on: Prioritizing growth: How to align ambulatory investments with patient access, organizational mission and financial goals. Making smarter site-selection decisions: What data can reveal beyond population growth and demographics. Preserving capital flexibility: How alternative financing approaches and creative real estate structures can support expansion. Managing operational performance: How to bring new facilities online efficiently while maintaining consistent standards across the network. Applying AI: Where emerging capabilities can support real estate planning and facility operations. Hear how health systems can take a more coordinated approach to planning, financing and operating ambulatory networks built for long-term performance.

For healthcare providers, getting paid isn't just about how reimbursement moves from payer to provider. When payment arrives — and how predictable that timing is — can have important implications for cash flow, operations and the payer-provider relationship. In this episode of Healthcare Insider, Shannon Mortland of the Modern Healthcare Content Studio speaks with Dylan Papa, senior vice president and general manager of commercial growth and partnerships at Zelis, about why settlement timing deserves greater attention as the healthcare industry continues to modernize payments. The conversation explores how uncertainty around payment timing can influence provider operations, whether faster and more predictable settlement could help reduce payer-provider friction, and what needs to change before the industry can rethink when providers get paid.

Healthcare organizations continue to face pressure to control costs, improve operational performance and make smarter use of limited resources. Yet significant opportunities may remain untapped in areas such as indirect spend, purchased services and capital expenditures. In this episode of Healthcare Insider, Shannon Mortland of the Modern Healthcare Content Studio speaks with Tom Swapp, senior vice president of indirect spend and purchased services at Vizient, about how health systems can rethink procurement to uncover savings and drive greater operational efficiency.

Digital pathology is changing how laboratories approach diagnostics, workflows and patient care. But realizing its potential requires healthcare leaders to look beyond the technology itself and consider its impact across the pathology service line. In this episode of Healthcare Insider, Matthew Hanna, MD, vice president of pathology informatics at UPMC, discusses the evolution of digital and computational pathology and what these advances could mean for health systems in terms of care and financial performance. Key takeaways: Explore the business case for digital pathology beyond direct reimbursement, including potential effects on workflow efficiency, slide management, recruitment and the broader patient care pathway. Learn how computational pathology and AI can help pathologists identify areas of interest, quantify biomarkers, prioritize cases and integrate increasingly complex diagnostic information. Discover how the pathologist's role is evolving as digital imaging, molecular data and computational outputs become more integrated into clinical decision-making. Hear practical steps for implementation, including workflow readiness, governance, infrastructure, baseline metrics and post-implementation performance measurement.

Gene Cavacini, president of U.S. Pharmaceutical Distribution at McKesson, is a diversified healthcare services leader dedicated to advancing health outcomes for patients everywhere. In his role, Gene oversees distribution and customer service operations in the United States, supporting McKesson's customer and channel partnerships across manufacturers and providers, leading more than 7,500 employees tasked with delivering one-third of America's medicines. In this episode of Healthcare Insider, we explore how distributors drive greater agility across the healthcare ecosystem, supporting access to emerging therapies and essential medicines for patients and communities across the country. You'll learn why the distributor's role is becoming increasingly critical to the future of healthcare.