EVP & President Physician Enterprise

Purpose of the Position

This is an outstanding opportunity for an innovative physician leader to work with a system embracing innovation as an organizational and cultural transformation effort rather than simply a technology initiative. Reporting directly to the President and Chief Executive Officer of the health system, the Executive Vice President (EVP) and President, Physician Enterprise, will lead the advancement of the physician enterprise into a mature, cohesive and contemporary multi-specialty enterprise which is fully
integrated across the health system. This executive will serve as a strategic leader and will be instrumental in driving this transformational culture which is focused on delivering high-quality care, prioritizing patient-centered care, and patient access. The EVP and President, Physician Enterprise will partner with the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Health System Officer to drive organizational performance through the use of technology to improve workflows for clinicians
while simplifying access for patients.

The opportunity extends beyond the employed medical group. A critical responsibility will be to develop an enterprise-wide physician strategy that effectively engages and aligns independent, affiliated, and employed physicians around Atlantic Health’s growth, access, quality, value, and service line priorities. Recognizing the importance of independent physicians to Atlantic Health’s market position, this leader will work deliberately to build trust, address historical points of friction, and create mutually beneficial models of partnership and alignment.

The EVP and President, Physician Enterprise will further position the organization to succeed in a rapidly evolving market, emphasizing the importance of a strong operating infrastructure that will support the overall system’s goals of promoting operational efficiency. This leader will also be accountable for providing strong leadership, partnership, and oversight of the Service Lines.

The EVP and President, Physician Enterprise will have demonstrated experience in creating a cohesive and collaborative practice culture which prides itself on being the preeminent leader with regard to patient access, quality, safety, and world-class patient experience. Overall, the EVP and President, Physician Enterprise must be a consummate communicator and nurture relationships proactively over time. They will continually need to engage, re-sell and re-influence along the way to solidify commitment and execution on needed changes. This can require courageous conversations and taking issues head-on.

The EVP and President, Physician Enterprise will be a key member of the senior executive team, participating in all long- and short-term strategic planning. They will bear bottom- line responsibility for the growth, operational, financial performance, and success of the physician enterprise.
Direct reports include the Senior Vice President, Clinical Service Lines, Senior Vice President, Service Line Operations, Vice President, Population Health and President, Accountable Care, Vice President, Physician Business Development, Vice President, Operations Atlantic Medical Group.
The EVP and President, Physician Enterprise portfolio will encompass physician enterprise strategy, physician practice operations, ambulatory physician and advanced practice provider strategy, population health and accountable care, value-based care, physician alignment, physician compensation and recruitment, and physician-facing service line strategy.

This role will work closely with the system Chief Medical Officer, whose primary responsibilities encompass clinical excellence, quality and patient safety, research, and medical education. The EVP and President, Physician Enterprise will focus on physician enterprise strategy, physician practice operations, growth, alignment, productivity, provider compensation and recruitment, value-based care, and the development of an integrated operating model across employed and independent physician partners.

Responsibilities

The EVP and President, Physician Enterprise is responsible for leading the strategic direction, growth, alignment, and operational and financial performance of the physician and advanced practice provider enterprise. This executive will oversee physician practice operations, provider productivity, compensation strategy, recruitment, population health, value-based care, accountable care and physician alignment initiatives. In partnership with the Chief Medical Officer and other clinical leaders, the executive will support improvements in quality, patient experience, access, care standardization, and clinical outcomes while ensuring cost-effective, high-quality care for patients and consumers.
The EVP and President, Physician Enterprise will be expected to have made measurable progress or achieved the following key objectives within the first 6 to 12 months. The goals represent some of these challenges (not listed in order of priority).

Key Objectives in First 6-12 Months

• Build strong, trusting relationships with the Executive team members (CEO, CHSO, CMO, CFO, CAO, CNE, CIO, and CLO) in addition to all members of the clinical enterprise. Seek to understand where the EVP and President, Physician Enterprise can provide key knowledge and insights to foster and lead the future clinical vision.
• Effectively partner with HR, Finance, IT, Revenue Cycle and other functions as needed to implement improvement plans.
• Provide sound fiscal leadership to include administration of a successful physician compensation program.
• Be a visible leader, creating functional committees to strategically position the organization as a stable, unified medical group that is recognized as a clinical leader in the community.

Nature and Scope

• Develop personal and professional credibility across the system and within the community; gain respect and build trust internally and externally.
• Coordinate the development of a strategic plan with stakeholders, hospital leadership, service line leadership, employed and affiliated physicians.
• Monitor external environment/industry to ensure capabilities are market-leading to advance health in the population.
• Deliver efficiency and effectiveness in the physician practices through implementation of the standard management approach and investment models that can be measured by improved financial performance of all physician groups. Delivers top decile patient/customer experience.
• Educate and influence to bring others along to a new way of thinking (i.e., focus on value versus volume, changing models of care, reducing variation, optimizing facility and staffing decisions).
• Leading through influence, not power – building relationships across physicians and key stakeholders, both internally and externally.

Role Specific Duties:Creating a Cohesive, Trustworthy, and Engaged Culture

• Continue to strengthen relationships with members of the medical group, independent physician groups, engaging the providers in the delivery of high-quality care which is cost effective and patient focused. Develop and hone a team of high functioning physician leaders throughout the medical group.
• Establish a consistent and credible engagement model for independent and affiliated physicians, listening to concerns, repairing relationships where needed, and creating transparent mechanisms through which physicians can help shape enterprise strategy.
• Analyze expansion plans for further integration of new practices; develop a unified culture which reflects the overall strategic goals of the system.
• Strategically determine any additional opportunities for expansion within current services or new service lines. Engages physicians in process improvement and the dissemination of best practices across geographic boundaries.
• Develop a smooth process for the onboarding of new clinical partners.
• Sets challenging and productive goals for team; holds team accountable for actions while providing leadership and motivation.
• Provides resources and support for the enablement of strong physician performance.
• Uses checkpoints and data to track progress, setting up systems and processes to measure results.

Strategic and Operational Leadership

• Partners with system level executive leadership and collaborative partners to refine and lead the overall strategy, studying the medical market and monitoring the competitive landscape to ensure potential opportunities are appropriately addressed.
• Strengthen and align the business and clinical objectives across the continuum, positioning for the future of healthcare.
• Advance Financial Performance and Enhance Operational Efficiency.
• Provide strategic leadership to strengthen the financial foundation of the medical group. Guide initiatives that improve clinical operations, reduce overhead costs, and support sustainable growth. Foster a culture of accountability and data-informed decision-making across physician leadership to ensure alignment with organizational goals. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to monitor performance metrics and implement solutions that balance fiscal responsibility with high-quality care delivery.
• Lead the ongoing evolution of physician compensation models to support productivity, quality, access, growth, value-based care, and enterprise alignment.
• Advance physician and advanced practice provider workforce planning, recruitment, deployment, retention, and succession strategies in support of service line and market priorities.
• Evaluate current operations, policies and processes, identifying opportunities to fortify commonalities and negotiate differences to further advance clinical operations and integration.
• Monitors clinical and performance outcomes via benchmark analysis and facilitates accountability via defined expectations and goals, ensuring consistency of care across all clinical practices to achieve medical excellence, efficiency and an excellent patient experience.
• Evaluates the existing infrastructure around quality, safety, collaboration with organizational partners, service lines, the medical group operating committee and structures.

Innovation, Technology, and Consumer Access

• Partner with the Chief Information Officer, Chief Administrative Officer, clinical leaders, and other executive colleagues to identify, prioritize, and implement technology-enabled improvements across the physician enterprise.
• Advance innovative solutions that reduce friction for patients and clinicians, including ambient clinical documentation, generative artificial intelligence, call center automation, centralized scheduling, automated patient communication, and consumer-facing digital capabilities.
• Translate innovation into measurable improvements in access, physician and team member productivity, patient experience, operating efficiency, and cost of care.
• Help Atlantic Health pursue its aspiration to reduce the cost of delivering care as new technologies are implemented, ensuring that innovation contributes to affordability rather than adding unnecessary complexity or expense.

Trust/Engagement

• Builds a culture of trust and engagement as reflected in the Great Place to Work Trust Index
• Survey at a direct report, workgroup and hospital/entity level.
• Holds leaders accountable for behaviors that create trust and engagement.
• Performs all duties and responsibilities of this position in a manner that reflects the values.
• Maintains and strengthens relationships with physicians and assures their involvement in developing systems to assure the growth of the service and the cost-effective delivery of quality patient care in a manner that fosters patient and employee satisfaction.

Results Oriented Leadership

• Sets challenging and productive goals for team.
• Holds team accountable for actions while providing leadership and motivation.
• Provides resources and support.
• Uses checkpoints and data to track progress, setting up system and processes to measure results.

Collaboration and Partnership

• Works collaboratively and as a team member with hospital leadership. Partners with Human Resources to achieve desired organizational culture, staffing and workforce metrics.
• Fosters positive working relationships between staff and physicians across the Health System.
• Fosters a culture that focuses on patient satisfaction, safety, customer service, staff participation, collaboration, motivation, and effective communication.

The Candidate:Experience and Professional Qualifications

• Minimum of ten (10) years of experience in senior management within a group practice or clinic model, preferably affiliated with an integrated health system.
• Ten (10) – fifteen (15) years of clinical practice, with a reputation as an excellent clinician. Clinical credibility is a must.
• Experience as a VPMA, CPE, and/or physician executive of similar sized organization is desired.
• Extensive experience with strategic planning, practice evaluation and integration.
• Financial acumen in leading complex groups in aligning clinical operations with enterprise financial goals.
• An in-depth understanding of integrated healthcare delivery systems, healthcare systems, and the current healthcare environment is essential.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the business aspect of the multi-specialty group practice management and ambulatory clinical operations.
• Proven effectiveness in building and maintaining strong rapport with physicians and advanced practitioners in a competitive market.
• Known reputation as a physician advocate with a strong patient experience focus.
• Successful track record in recruitment and integration of physicians.
• Familiarity with information system, regulatory compliance issues, and business operations for physician practices, clinics and outpatient care.
• Knowledge of national and local physician practice trends, policies and issues affecting physician practices.

Skills and Competencies

• Excellent interpersonal communication skills to interact effectively with multiple parties in complex situations as well as being highly skilled in conflict resolution (e.g., acting as negotiator, arbitrator, facilitator, consensus builder).
• Sound performance management skills and experience with an emphasis on change and the ability to develop consensus from independent parties to achieve the goals of the System.
• Ability to create/maintain a collaborative work environment.
• Program start up experience/ entrepreneurial viewpoint; willingness to adjust strategies and tactics as required to meet stakeholder requirements
• Strategic and visionary thinker; innovative and growth-minded physician.
• Experience in the design and implementation of provider reimbursement systems supportive of network health management.
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written.
• Strong interpersonal skills; skilled in conflict resolution at various levels of an organization.
• A highly collaborative and engaging leadership style, coupled with the confidence and courage to challenge assumptions, raise difficult issues, and promote healthy, respectful debate.
• Analytical and data-driven, but also personable, approachable, and capable of building authentic relationships with a wide range of physician and executive stakeholders.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced environment, moving from strategy to execution quickly while maintaining rigor, accountability, and effective stakeholder engagement.
• Strong organizational skills, flexible and adaptable style, ability to manage multiple tasks and projects at the same time.
• Strong understanding of consumer trends and the influence of changing technologies on the patient care experience.
• Demonstrated success in re-defining and redesigning care practices and reduce care variation through alignment and consistency.

A proven track record in several experiences:

• Multi-specialty practice leadership.
• Physician relationships.
• Driving strategy; vision of where healthcare is going.
• Active healthcare practice.
• Medical management, utilization management, utilization review, insurance.
• Clinical integration.
• Insurance, new financial models, risk models.
• Population health/ ACO experience preferred.
• Board interaction.
• Interfacing with insurance/ hospitals/ physicians/ government.
• Healthcare reform.
• Seasoned organizational political skills.

Salary range: $975, 075 - $1,350,687 base only; excludes all incentives.

Education and Licensure

• Graduate of an accredited medical school; MD or DO Degree is required as is Board Certification in a clinical discipline.
• Eligibility for licensure to practice medicine in the state.
• Completion of a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) or Master’s of Science in Health Administration (MSHA) preferred. Additional education and coursework in management or business is desired.
• Completion of the Physician in Management series of the American College of Physician Executives is also desirable.