Kevin Mahoney on the responsibility of academic medical centers
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What is the role of academic medical centers in today's healthcare landscape?
Welcome. You're listening to the McKinsey on Healthcare podcast, where we explore the ideas and issues shaping the future of healthcare. I'm Dr. Pooja Kumar, a senior partner in McKinsey's healthcare practice and global leader of the McKinsey Health Institute, and your host for today's episode. This particular episode is also being distributed in partnership with Modern Healthcare, a leading source of industry news. I'm joined by Kevin Mahoney, Chief Executive Officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, a cornerstone of Penn Medicine. Kevin has been with Penn Medicine for nearly three decades and became CEO in 2019. He leads operations and strategy across six hospitals, 11 multi-specialty centers, and hundreds of outpatient facilities serving communities in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey.
In our conversation, we'll explore the evolving role of academic health systems at a time of mounting pressures, including workforce strain, rising patient expectations, and financial constraints. We'll also talk about how AMCs are rethinking their business models to meet the moment while ensuring they remain an essential pillar of healthcare in the years to come. Kevin, thank you for being with us today.
What are the pressing challenges faced by academic medical centers?
I'm really looking forward to this, Pooja. You and I have been working closely together for decades, and it's just going to be fun to go through some of the current topics.
I thought I'd start with a topic that's near to your heart, really what the future is that you see for academic health systems. So, Kevin, as you know, academic health systems have long served as a cornerstone of U.S. healthcare, advancing clinical excellence, training the next generation of physicians, and driving biomedical innovation. In today's climate of workforce strain and shifting patient expectations, what do you see as the most pressing challenges that face AMCs?
It's a great question. I want to start with, I think academic medical centers, as you said, are the cornerstone. I think we have a sacred obligation to continue our tripartite mission. And that's what I'm looking forward to focusing on with you as we spend a little bit of time together.
How are academic medical centers rethinking their business models?
The pressures are real. I mean, they're not going to get any easier. We are traditionally a very expensive model. Wage inflation, regular inflation is just outpacing us. So I think the number one pressure facing us is we have to reimagine how we deliver care and bring that cost down. Otherwise, we won't survive. And it's just the whole world's going to leave. I think the other, it's not a pressure, it's a binary. It's pressure, but it's also an opportunity, is how do we reimagine medical education.
What innovative approaches are being used to enhance medical education?
For the most part, it's four years, residency, get started. And for many of our physicians, you know, they're in their early 30s, mid 30s before they get their first fully paying job. And we need to shrink that amount of time. Can we use virtual reality training, augmented reality? What new tools could we use? Are we going to train people more in AI and how they access information? The last is research. we need to continue to come up with models that not only create breakthroughs, but breakthroughs our country can afford. So it's great that we have gene therapy, but if Medicaid won't pay for it because it's so expensive, then you have an equity issue. So I think an obligation we have in research is not just continuing the fantastic research we do.
How can academic medical centers meet community healthcare needs?
Don't just keep winning prizes, inventions, so forth, but come up with breakthroughs that America can afford.
It's a really tall order, right, for any academic health system to excel on all three of those things. Is there a way that you think that the role specifically of these systems have to evolve to be indispensable to the broader healthcare ecosystem while really excelling in those three missions, providing top tier care for the most complex care and being there for patients, any patient that needs them?
Yeah, no, it's a fascinating question one I wrestle with a lot in terms of the ecosystem.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the role of academic medical centers in today's healthcare landscape?
0:04–1:20
2
What are the pressing challenges faced by academic medical centers?
1:20–2:16
3
How are academic medical centers rethinking their business models?
2:16–2:50
4
What innovative approaches are being used to enhance medical education?
2:50–3:41
5
How can academic medical centers meet community healthcare needs?
3:41–4:54
6
What steps is Penn Medicine taking to reinvent its business model?
4:54–6:11
7
How is technology impacting patient care and operational efficiency?
6:11–7:18
8
What personal journey led Kevin Mahoney to his current role?
7:18–30:23
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