Leading through uncertainty: A blueprint for access, scale, and growth advantage
Volatility has become a defining characteristic of the healthcare landscape. Health systems are navigating margin fragility, rising expenses, consumer affordability challenges, policy disruption, payer retrenchment, and rapid site-of-care shifts that are reshaping strategic footing across the industry.
This session explores what organizational resilience looks like in this new reality—and how leaders can move beyond reactive cost management toward a more durable model of competitiveness. The discussion centers on the strategic and operational levers that are redefining success in a highly disrupted market.
Grounded in the latest Academy data and industry insights, this session equips executives to make disciplined, high-impact strategic choices that align growth, operations, and workforce transformation around a cohesive vision.
The central takeaway: resilience is no longer about weathering disruption—it is about using disruption as a catalyst for reinvention. Organizations that embrace this mindset are better positioned to lead in 2026 and beyond.
Key Takeaways
Three core themes emerge as critical differentiators:
Asset-light growth models Asset-light strategies—such as partnerships, virtual care, ambulatory expansion, and non-traditional care models—enable scalable growth while preserving capital flexibility. These approaches support faster market responsiveness and reduce balance-sheet strain.
Operational efficiency that unlocks capacity and revenue Operational excellence is reframed from simple cost reduction to enterprise-wide performance transformation. Leaders examine how care model redesign, site-of-care optimization, standardization, and data-driven performance management can free capacity, improve throughput, and capture stranded revenue.
Workforce modernization aligned with AI-enabled productivity Workforce strategy is positioned as both a risk and an opportunity. The session highlights how automation, AI, and digital tools can reduce administrative burden, augment clinical teams, and create sustainable productivity gains—while supporting workforce engagement and retention.