Podcast
Join Patient Access Collaborative Founder and Executive Director, Elizabeth Woodcock, as she guides you through some of the most relevant conversations taking place in the Access world today. Take a behind-the-scenes look at all things access in the ambulatory enterprise. Here, patient access leaders from academic health systems and industry experts share their expertise on hot topics in access including best practices, process development, organizational dynamics, technological innovation, and patient experience.
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Insights on Panel Size: Key Access Metric for Primary Care
How many patients are too many? In this episode, Dr. Kevin Shah, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Primary Care at Duke University Health joins us to unpack the complex science—and art—of managing patient panels. From right-sizing for patient acuity to accounting for care team support, panel size isn’t just a number—it’s a balancing act that impacts access, quality, and clinician well-being. Dr. Shah shares strategies for measuring and managing panels in a way that supports sustainable care and meets patient demand without overwhelming providers.
Tune in as we explore developing dashboards, balancing visit volume, risk adjustment, empanelment best practices, and what to do with the data once you have it.
Category: Medical Directors
Published: May 30
Battling Burnout With the Joy of Practice
Joy of Practice is the beating heart of healthcare. It represents the very reason our clinicians practice medicine in the first place, underscoring the fundamental purpose behind their care delivery. Despite their passion for patients, clinician burnout is threatening to destabilize the entire supply of the already-burdened healthcare industry. In this month’s inspiring episode, we explore why clinicians’ well-being is essential to patient access, and how access leaders can uplift their efforts through compassionate leadership.
Elizabeth Woodcock, Founder and Executive Director of PAC, is joined by Lisa Griffin, MBA, CCCM, Chief Consumer Officer at University Hospitals, and Dr. Christine Sinsky, Vice President of Professional Satisfaction at the American Medical Association.
Together, they unpack the recent surge in clinician burnout, and the responsibility of access leaders to build meaningful relationships with the clinicians who make up the ambulatory enterprise.
Category: Medical Directors
Published: April 15
The Access Framework: Evidence-Based Management
Our leaders know that patient access is a fundamental pillar of healthcare, but until now, there has been no standardized definition or framework to guide access leaders. This begs the question - what could our community of experts create if they came together to define the key elements of patient access management?
This month, Founder and Executive Director Elizabeth Woodcock, DrPH, MBA; Senior Director of Research, Chris Profeta, MPH; and Children's National's VP of Ambulatory Services and a member of our Professional Development Committee, Marc DiFazio, MD, sit down to celebrate the upcoming publication of the Patient Access Collaborative's groundbreaking research study.
Together, they break down the Patient Access Management Framework - the first comprehensive, evidence-based model that defines patient access - and the key determinants that shape it. They discuss the Delphi survey methodology used to reach expert consensus, the determinants identified in the study, and how this research provides a roadmap for health systems to reliably improve simple, timely, and connected ambulatory care.
Tune in to explore how this landmark study is transforming patient access management and what it means for the future of healthcare.
Check out the full publication here!
Category: Strategy
Published: March 17
Staring Down Disaster: How Access Leaders Maintain Business Continuity During Emergencies
Wildfires have ravaged Southern California in recent months, forcing health system leaders to navigate patient access disruptions while ensuring continuity of care. Beyond the immediate crisis, these disasters create lasting "access debt"—a backlog of delayed appointments and unmet patient needs that can overwhelm health systems long after the flames have died down. How can access leaders prepare for and recover from such disruptions?
This month, Founder and Executive Director Elizabeth Woodcock sits down with Aimee Corke, Director of Emergency Management and Business Continuity at Northwell Health; Connie Lee, MPH, FACMPE, Senior Director of Patient Access at UCLA Health; and Leigh Bouskila Turk, MHA, Director of Practice Development and Support Services at Nicklaus Children’s.
The leaders share firsthand experiences managing patient access during wildfires, hurricanes, and other emergencies—discussing business continuity strategies, recovery planning, and how to maintain access in the face of disruption.
Category: Strategy
Published: February 15