Finance Leaders Unite in the Big Easy to Discuss Jazzing Up Their Financial Strategies and Navigating the Rhythms of the Healthcare Landscape
Last month, from April 2nd to 4th, we hosted the 13th annual Healthcare Finance Institute.
Every April, IPMI eagerly reunites CFOs and Revenue Cycle Leaders from large hospitals and health systems nationwide. This event is a pivotal moment to recognize the CFO's critical role in the survival of the US healthcare system.
This year’s program took place in the vibrant city of New Orleans, adding a lively touch with its fun, jazz, top-notch southern fare, and rich cultural history to the two-and-a-half-day event.
The program focused on the remarkable achievements of healthcare finance leaders over the past year, addressing the challenges they faced and the strategies they implemented.
Successful navigation of the complex healthcare landscape depends on how leadership teams communicate, making collaboration a key theme of the 2024 programming. The agenda featured insights from various leaders working with CFOs to lower costs and improve patient care.
The event began with perspectives from Cliff Deveny, MD, President & CEO of Summa Health, and Robert Downing, CEO of Premier Health, who discussed building and maintaining strategic alliances with hospital CFOs.
Maintaining cash flow and financial health through revenue cycle management is crucial for hospitals. To address regulatory changes, emerging payment models, and healthcare consumerism, an interactive panel was led by esteemed revenue cycle leaders: Casey Williams from RevSpring, Anita Colon from Temple University Health System, Anthony Cunningham from LCMC Health, and David Kelly from Mary Rutan Health.
Continuing the theme of collaboration, an eye-opening session on the pharmacy landscape was hosted by experienced pharmacy executives Binita Patel and Erick Wucki from Memorial Hermann Health System, and Andrea Read from Novant Health. They shared strategies to control pharmacy costs, maximize 340b programs, and enhance growth within the pharmacy sector.
To gain a big-picture view of the current healthcare landscape, attendees heard from Dr. Stuart Altman, the Sol. C. Chaikin Professor of National Health Policy at Brandeis University. A leading health economist with five decades of experience, Dr. Altman provided an assessment of the fiscal challenges facing the American healthcare system and insights into federal and state health policy.
One attendee remarked, “This was the best session of the conference for me. I thought I was back in my college economics class! Dr. Altman shared valuable information that I'll be taking back to my teams.”
The primary goal of the Healthcare Finance Institute is to create a supportive networking environment for finance executives to exchange information and best practices. Setting the tone for open sharing of insights was a panel discussion led by prominent health system CFOs: Jeffrey Hundman from Langdon Prairie Health, Brent Davis from Advent Health, Linda Kulhanek from St. Luke’s Health, and Jim Wilson from Mayo Clinic Health System. The panel addressed themes like fostering a culture of financial discipline, increasing business agility, driving profitability, generating sustainable revenue streams, and balancing cost reduction with operational efficiency.
Outside the main stage presentations, attendees engaged in interactive Think Tank discussions on improving margin ROI, the importance of CFO involvement in consumer financial experiences, the impact of enterprise automation, and leveraging cloud technology.
This recap only scratches the surface of the many interesting, knowledgeable, and valuable insights shared by the executives. As one attendee summarized, “The rooms were COLD but the topics were HOT."
While we cannot adjust conference room temperatures precisely enough to optimize everyone’s internal thermometer, we can certainly curate an agenda full of timely and relevant topics that encourage executives to engage and share ideas for advancing their organizations.
IPMI extends a heartfelt thank you to our esteemed Speaker Faculty, 2024 Advisory Committee, Service Provider Partners, and Attending Delegation.
The 2025 iteration of the Healthcare Finance Institute will take place April 6th – 8th, 2025 (location TBD). To contribute to the next Healthcare Finance Institute whether sharing some insights and experiences as a member of the Speaker Faculty, suggesting topic areas for the agenda or joining the waiting list for attendance, please contact Jennifer Holmes at jholmes@ipmievents.com.
“The support staff was incredible! Highly organized, they never missed a beat! Well done everyone!”
“The staff at IPMI do a fabulous job organizing these conferences. You make it look simple. The content of the conference was filled with strategic information with a nice blend of actionable takeaways. Establishing connections in other organizations and industries is invaluable.”
“Loved this event, exceeded my expectations!”
“IPMI staff were outstanding and had thought of everything!”
“It was wonderful. Very well-run event and we were treated like gold. Felt very valued throughout the process and enjoyed the caliber of the speakers and their content.”
“It was such an incredible event! I feel like my pen was on fire taking notes and writing down insights. The content was helpful and relevant. I hope to attend the next one!”
“The most valuable and productive conferences I have attended. The right level of thought leaders for me to interact with and relevant topics.”
