Beyond the Ballroom: Symposium Takeaways from Two Visionary Access Leaders
🎧 Tune into the full conversation on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen. And don’t forget to subscribe to the All Access Pass for more insights from the front lines of ambulatory access.
Joy. Creativity. Tenacity. Data. AI. These were just a few of the themes that echoed across the halls of the 2025 Patient Access Collaborative Symposium in Houston. But beyond the ballroom, some of the most insightful reflections come from the leaders themselves—those guiding the evolution of access at some of the nation’s largest and most complex health systems.
In our latest episode of The All Access Pass, we sat down with two of those leaders: Alexandra Blake Martinez, Associate Vice President of Access Strategic Operations at MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Tesha Montgomery, Senior Vice President of Access at Houston Methodist. Both helped lead the symposium—and both offered powerful takeaways on what it means to advance access in 2025.
The Rise of Access as a Strategic Function
For Montgomery, the Symposium represented a full-circle moment. “Access is here to stay,” she said. “It’s no longer a back-office function. It’s a strategic priority.” Her perspective is grounded in experience: with more than a decade of access work at Mayo Clinic and now an executive leader at Houston Methodist, she’s seen the field evolve from fragmented call centers to enterprise-wide transformation. Her team’s journey—from siloed operations to centralized strategy—is emblematic of what many PAC members are striving for.
A Wicked Problem—and a Collaborative Solution
Both leaders highlighted the Symposium’s opening theme by Executive Director, Elizabeth Woodcock: patient access as a “wicked problem.” As Martinez explained, a wicked problem is one that’s difficult to define and even harder to solve. But it’s precisely that complexity that makes the Collaborative’s community so vital. “We need each other,” she noted. “It’s not just about best practices—it’s about creating a safe space to share what’s not working too.”
AI and the Future of Access
Unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence emerged as a major theme. “AI is already helping us with call routing, appointment confirmations, even outbound referrals,” said Montgomery. “But we’re only scratching the surface.” Martinez agreed, noting that future access success will hinge on the ability to balance innovation with the human element. “AI is a broad ecosystem,” she explained. “Those who can harness both technology and talent will be the ones who thrive.”
Insights
Montgomery facilitated PAC’s Executive Forum, where senior leaders gathered behind closed doors to talk strategy. “The first thing we said was, ‘What’s said in here, stays in here,’” she joked. But she offered a few key themes: the importance of proving return on investment, the critical role of technology in addressing staffing shortages, and perhaps most importantly—peer support. “It was like therapy,” she said. “We’re all in this together.”
Martinez moderated the meeting of oncology leaders—one of the most well-attended sessions of the Symposium. “We’re facing an increasing gap between subspecialty supply and patient demand,” she explained. “We need better tools for capacity prediction, care coordination, and subspecialty benchmarking. Oncology access isn’t just complex—it’s intensifying.”
Don’t Wait Until Next Year
For those who couldn’t attend in person, Montgomery offered encouragement: “You can still get connected. Join a cohort. Dig into the benchmarking. Get active on the listserv.” The Symposium is a moment—but the Collaborative is a year-round opportunity to learn, grow, and lead.
Access may be a wicked problem—but it’s also the answer. And with leaders like Tesha Montgomery and Alexandra Blake Martinez at the helm, the future looks bright.
🎧 Tune into the full conversation on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen. And don’t forget to subscribe to the All Access Pass for more insights from the front lines of ambulatory access.