Economics

The Collaboration Imperative: Why Healthcare Executives Must Unite Against an Existential Threat

Peter B. Angood, MD, FRCS(C), FACS, MCCM, FAAPL(Hon), C. Ann Jordan, JD

Healthcare organizations face billions in revenue losses from Medicare cuts, halted value-based care models, and reduced federal funding. Traditional siloed leadership cannot tackle these interconnected challenges. This white paper emphasizes the critical need for integrated CEO-CFO-physician executive collaboration, offering actionable frameworks for building collaborative leadership structures. Executive partnerships and physician leadership development drive superior outcomes, financial sustainability, and competitive advantage in a transformed healthcare landscape.

Physician Leadership: More Valuable Than Ever —

A White Paper from the American Association for Physician Leadership

Influence

“Profiles in Success”: Certified Physician Executives Share the Value and ROI of their CPE Education

Peter B. Angood, MD, FRCS(C), FACS, MCCM, FAAPL(Hon)

AAPL believes physician leaders who are pursuing leadership education and training — and the organizations that are supporting their effort — should be able to clearly see the value of their time, money, and effort.

Influence

Championing Physician Leadership Development: AAPL's Five-Decade Commitment Meets Healthcare's Critical Moment

Peter B. Angood, MD, FRCS(C), FACS, MCCM, FAAPL(Hon)

From closing knowledge gaps in finance and AI to building emotional intelligence and peer communities, the future of healthcare demands bilingual leaders fluent in both medicine and strategy.

Team Building

Servant Leadership and the Chief Medical Officer: Ethos Made Operational

Mark D. Olszyk, MD, MBA, CPE, FACEP, FACHE

Servant leadership empowers physician executives to navigate clinical complexity and limited authority by fostering moral authority, psychological safety, and workforce engagement. It emphasizes structured listening, leader development, and accountability to enhance organizational performance and align teams around delivering safe, high-quality care.

SoundPractice

From Battlefield to Bedside: Physician Leadership Lessons from Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling

Mark Hertling, DBA

What do combat command and hospital leadership have in common? More than you'd think. In this episode of SoundPractice, Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, U.S. Army (Ret.) shares powerful insights on the surprising parallels between military and medical leadership, the importance of inter-professional training, and lessons from his wartime memoir, If I Don’t Return.

Integrity

An Unexpected Outcome: How Leadership Development May Reduce Physician Burnout

Mark Hertling, DBA, Kim Smith-Jentsch, PhD

Physician burnout is a healthcare crisis often tackled with costly programs. A study found leadership development, focusing on character and collaboration, unexpectedly reduced burnout, offering new intervention insights.

Environmental Influences

The Shadow Economy of Toxic Leadership in Healthcare

Aimee K. Gardner, PhD, Abigail Lara, MD

Toxic leadership harms healthcare organizations, creating unreported negative outcomes. This article offers eight evidence-based strategies to measure, monitor, and reduce toxic behaviors, fostering ethical leadership and better organizational health.

New Book

Career Prescription Guide: A Physician's Guide for Career Transformation or Advancement

Pamela C. Sullivan, MD, MBA, CPE, FACP, FCUCM, PT

This guide empowers physicians to navigate career transitions with confidence, align decisions with values, prevent burnout, and achieve fulfillment.

c1 Sullivan CareerPrescription

Economics

Resuscitating Healthcare: 80 Years of Federal Laws, Financing, and Future Forecast

Naakesh Dewan, MD, CPE, DLFAPA, FASAM

This analysis traces U.S. healthcare policy from the 1798 Marine Hospital Act to today's value-based care, highlighting key laws like Medicare and Medicaid. It explores spending growth and future sustainability challenges.

Resilience

Whom Physicians Become Under Pressure

Peter B. Angood, MD, FRCS(C), FACS, MCCM, FAAPL(Hon)

Healthcare leadership faces structural pressure, with lives at stake and constrained resources. Burnout, trust erosion, and blame persist, highlighting the need for values-driven leadership under stress.

Payment Models

Perceptions of Private Equity in Private Practice: Insights from Ophthalmology

Arya M. Prasad, BA, Rama R. Bikkina, BA, Jay M. Lustbader, MD

Private equity (PE) has grown in private practice medicine, impacting ophthalmology. Interviews revealed mixed views on PE’s influence on clinical autonomy, care quality, patient costs, and operational sustainability.

Integrity

From Silence to Solutions: Building Courageous Cultures in Healthcare

Peter Valenzuela, MD, MBA, FAAFP, FAAPL, FACMPE

This article highlights how healthcare organizations can combat the risks of silence by fostering psychological safety and courageous cultures. It outlines strategies for empowering frontline workers to share insights, drive innovation, and enhance trust for better outcomes.

Systems Awareness

Improving the Physician Experience to Attract, Retain, and Engage Top Physician Talent — Part 3: Rethinking Physician Development and Advancing from Competence to Continuous Improvement

R. John Sawyer, II, PhD, ABPP-CN

This article explores two phases of physician development: structured training and fragmented post-training growth. It advocates for continuous, structured programs to enhance skills, retention, and organizational alignment.

LEADERSHIP IS LEARNED

For over 50 years.

The American Association for Physician Leadership has helped physicians develop their leadership skills through education, career development, thought leadership and community building.

The American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL) changed its name from the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE) in 2014. We may have changed our name, but we are the same organization that has been serving physician leaders since 1975.

CONTACT US

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