To get ahead of change, we must embrace it. This principle is central to my HFMA Chair’s theme, “Lead Now,” and was echoed throughout HFMA’s Annual Conference. The rapid pace of technological advancement is transforming every aspect of healthcare operations — including finance. By embracing innovation, we will advance the goal of improving cost-effective healthcare.

Throughout the conference, four compelling perspectives on embracing change emerged.

1 Technology is reshaping every facet of patient care and engagement. Dan Liljenquist, JD, senior vice president and chief strategy officer, Intermountain Health, predicted that AI will increasingly empower consumers to manage their health between care episodes. A recipient of HFMA’s Richard L. Clarke Board of Directors Award for his work in rethinking the healthcare value equation, Liljenquist also stresses the importance of reimagining patient engagement to reflect evolving consumer needs.

2 Healthcare finance must lead the way in adopting AI. While revenue cycle teams are already leveraging AI’s potential, tremendous opportunity remains for applying it across other finance functions — including accounting and business intelligence.
“It’s going to do frontline analytics, and people are going to be afraid of that,” said Nick Barcellona, CFO, WVU Medicine. “You have to get your team, communicate, be transparent, have that structure — and you have to embrace it.”

As AI integrates into operations, leaders must strike a thoughtful balance between encouraging innovation and upholding legal, ethical and mission-aligned standards.

3 Innovation is the key to long-term sustainability. Remember the conversation shift from sick care to true healthcare? That innovative mindset sparked today’s value-based care and payment models. While still evolving, these models demonstrate the power of thinking differently. Continued innovation will move us closer to a future defined by higher quality and greater cost-effectiveness with sustainable care delivery. 

4 We must lead a national conversation on the cost of care. With the launch of the U.S. Healthcare Vitals Tracker (see page 16), HFMA is sparking a much-needed dialogue about one of our industry’s toughest challenges: rising costs and underwhelming outcomes compared with our global peers.

“Leading healthcare doesn’t mean having all the answers,” said HFMA President and CEO C. Ann Jordan, JD. “It means having the fortitude to move forward anyway — through ambiguity, complexity and the uncertain pulse of progress.”

When we embrace change with confidence, our teams will follow.

Now is the time to step outside our comfort zones and look ahead to innovative ideas and technologies not with fear, but with openness and courage. In doing so, we will position ourselves to lead healthcare finance forward with the agility, resilience and vision this moment demands.

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