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Executive Pulse

Executive Pulse

by AMGA (American Medical Group Association)

Business Health & Fitness

Season 1

Ep #6 – Leading Without Leaving the Exam Room

Khuram R. Ghumman, MD, Founding Clinical Faculty Member and Clinical Professor, Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University; Associate Dean for Strategic Partnerships, Quinnipiac University; Co-Chair, USMLE Ambulatory Care Test Material Development Committee; Past President, Connecticut State Medical Society Healthcare delivery has been reshaped by years of consolidation, yet many organizations still struggle to keep the patient at the center of an increasingly complex system. Dr. Khuram Ghumman, Associate Dean for Strategic Partnerships at the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, past president of the Connecticut State Medical Society, and practicing family physician, joins Dr. Brian McDonough to discuss where documentation and coding burdens pull clinicians away from care, why leadership is strongest when it stays connected to the exam room, and how AI and technology can augment physicians rather than replace their judgment. From rethinking how primary care is funded to designing delivery systems through the patient's lens, this conversation offers timely insights for executives navigating transformation across healthcare delivery.

Ep #5 – Setting Your Own Agenda: Leadership, Pivots, and Finding Joy in Medicine

Leon McCrea, MD, MPH, Executive Vice President and Dean for Educational Affairs, Drexel University School of Medicine The most important leadership decision of your day may happen before you ever open your inbox. Leon McCrea, MD, Executive Vice President and Dean for Educational Affairs at Drexel University School of Medicine, joins Dr. Brian McDonough for a candid conversation on what separates intentional leaders from reactive ones — and how that distinction plays out across an entire career. Drawing on his own path from an unexpected detour out of Brown's combined BS/MD program to the dean's office, Dr. McCrea challenges executives to embrace strategic pivots, name their ambitions publicly, and build cultures where talent is recognized and developed at every level. The conversation tackles AI's dual role as both a clinical accelerator and a de-skilling risk, the post-pandemic erosion of organizational connectivity that C-suite leaders are still navigating, and why the leaders who last are those who find freedom in their work — not just freedom from it.

Ep #4 – Unfinished Business: A Population Health Pioneer's Urgent Call for Change

David Nash, MD, MBA, Founding Dean Emeritus, Jefferson College of Population HealthAmerica's public health infrastructure was underfunded long before COVID — and the pandemic made that impossible to ignore. David Nash, MD, MBA, Founding Dean Emeritus of the Jefferson College of Population Health and pioneer of the field, joins Dr. Brian McDonough to reflect on building the nation's first College of Population Health, why population health is "public health on steroids," and what COVID exposed about structural racism, poverty, and the healthcare system. From the social determinants driving 85% of health outcomes to his urgent concerns about America's preparedness for the next pandemic, Dr. Nash offers a candid assessment of where the system stands — and why the leaders being trained today may be its best hope.

Ep #3 – Beyond Acquisition: The Real Work of Integration

Jerry Penso, MD, MBA, President and CEO, AMGA Health systems have spent years acquiring practices and expanding physician enterprises, yet many continue to face challenges operating as fully integrated organizations. Jerry Penso, MD, MBA, President and CEO of AMGA, brings insights from health system leaders nationwide on the operational, financial, and cultural realities shaping integration today. The discussion examines why integration efforts often stall after acquisition, what distinguishes systems that are making meaningful progress, and how leading organizations are rethinking the physician enterprise as a strategic driver of long-term value.

Ep #2 – Bridging the Gap: Contracting, Collaboration, and Clinical Outcomes

Rachael Jones, MPA, CEO, Syntax Health (a Lightbeam company) Value-based care is evolving quickly, but many organizations still struggle to align contracting strategy with clinical and financial performance. Rachael Jones, CEO of Syntax Health (a Lightbeam Company), joins Dr. Brian McDonough to discuss where healthcare leaders are underestimating risk, why traditional contract modeling continues to create friction, and how stronger payer-provider collaboration can improve outcomes on both sides. From transparency and smarter negotiations to preparing for the next phase of value-based care, this conversation offers timely insights for executives navigating transformation across healthcare delivery.

Ep #1 – What if the key to transforming healthcare isn't technology or policy — it's people?

Dr. Stephen Beeson, founder of Practicing Excellence and one of healthcare's most influential voices on clinical and leadership development, joins Dr. Brian McDonough to explore why investing in human capacity may be the most powerful lever healthcare organizations have. From burned-out clinicians to overstretched teams, Dr. Beeson makes the case that skill-building — done right and at scale — can drive measurable change without adding to the burden. A conversation about what it actually takes to help people in healthcare perform at their best.

Introduction to AMGA's Executive Pulse

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