Contributor: Katherine Clark, MD'15, WG’15

It is my honor to take the helm of this outstanding alumni association. In my first days on campus as a student, I heard a passing comment regarding the strength of relationships that often develop during the program, and although it may be cliché, it certainly held true for me. To this day, some of my dearest friends are those classmates I met through the Wharton HCM program. To that fact, I consider Heather Aspras, WG’08 a great mentor and friend. I’ve known her since my time as a student, and I feel lucky to follow in her footsteps on the WHCMAA board. Read more.

This eclectic standing column features insightful musings, words of wisdom, life lessons, and stepping-stones to business success. This month's philosopher is Katherine Clark, MD’15, WG'15, Assistant Professor of Medicine, specializing in both Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology and Advanced Echocardiography at the Yale School of Medicine and Yale New Haven Health System. Read more.

Contributors: Zev L. Grumet-Morris and Christopher D. Durham

As the U.S. population ages, the demand for home-based care continues to surge. At a macro level, this has resulted in significant merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, including insurance companies and pharmacies entering the home-based care space as well as continued deals, many involving private equity, among established players in home-based care (notwithstanding a recent slowdown from the red-hot M&A market during the COVID-19 pandemic). The growing importance of home-based care as a key component of the healthcare industry shows no signs of abating – and with it comes legal scrutiny. Read more.

Contributor: Zachary Durst

In the past five years or more, we have seen the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning in healthcare. Currently, however, uses of AI and ML are decentralized and mostly ad hoc, with some projects overseen by the CIO and digital leaders, others by the chief data officer, and still others by research and biomedical informatics leaders. The key moving forward will be integration and strategic alignment of these disparate projects, which will require the creation of a dedicated executive position – the Chief AI Officer. Read more.

Contributor: Vidya Murthy, WEMBA’42 

While recent technology advancements ranging from machine learning to ChatGPT show promise for revolutionizing clinical care delivery, they also enable attackers to rapidly develop new mechanisms for exploiting cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Starting October 1, 2023, the FDA will begin to reject submissions that don’t detail cyber-security measures. While cybersecurity guidance has existed since 2014, the Refuse to Accept (RTA) gives medical device manufacturers (MDMs) 6 months to prepare and implement security measures that will meet the FDA’s expectations. In particular, the guidance requires MDMs to submit a plan to monitor, identify, and address post-market cybersecurity risks, including vulnerability disclosure and related procedures. Read more.

Contributor: Charlotte Owens, MD

Efforts to address societal issues are often initiated after major events, such as the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Yet, after the inspirational moment begins to fade, so do plans for truly transformational change. More often than not, short-term programs don’t move the needle, highlighting the importance of creating long-term, sustainable solutions.

In January of 2023, the World Economic Forum (WEF) held its annual meeting in Davos, where it convened global leaders from various sectors to discuss the state of the world and priorities for the year ahead. The world’s first global, multi-sector health equity pledge also took place there. As a member of WEF’s Global Health Equity Network representing Takeda, I was proud that our company was among the first of 39 companies to sign the Zero Health Gaps Pledge. We agreed to ten key action commitments to embed health equity in our organization’s business strategy, operations, and investments. Read more.

Contributor: Rich Shanfeld

To ensure the best possible fit for their team, healthcare organizations are increasingly turning to candidate assessment tools to assist and confirm their thinking around work style, cultural fit, and a variety of other factors. If you haven’t yet experienced this, either from the candidate seat or as a hiring manager, then it’s probably time to get educated about these new ways to evaluate potential candidates. Read more. 



Contributors: Leanne Mauriello, PhD, Rachna Govani & David Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACLM

The transition to value-based care requires tools and tactics to tackle disease prevention and health promotion efficiently in clinical encounters. But we have yet to implement a more upstream diagnostic that facilitates chronic disease prevention and mitigation as a standard of practice. To deliver on the promise of value-based care, it is imperative that we do so.

Objectively measured diet quality is the single leading predictor of chronic disease and premature death in much of the modern world. We all know that how we eat affects our health, but how can a clinician get a pulse-check in a standardized, low-friction way that generates a longitudinally tracked discrete variable like blood pressure or BMI? Read more. 

Contributors: Jennifer L. Tomasik, SM, FACHE and Chris Hugill, MBA

In the Spring edition of the Wharton Healthcare Quarterly, we introduced an approach to taking a strategic view of healthcare leadership transitions. In this next installment in the series, we will explore issues related to organizational effectiveness, and how healthcare entities can capitalize on leadership transitions to advance how work gets done effectively. Read more. 

Contributors: Wren Keber and Lisa Soroka

The payer landscape has become increasingly difficult to navigate, especially during a time when healthcare providers need to maximize revenue capture potential for financial stabilization post-COVID. This article offers our perspective on current landscape, along with tactics to help diffuse and manage tensions, navigate the maze of competing priorities/imperatives, and reach mutually agreeable outcomes supporting providers. Read more. 

Contributor: Linda Roszak Burton, ACC, BBC, BS

In the April issue of the WHQ, we introduced our Foundations of Grateful Leadership framework - a strengths-based framework supported by research and evidence-based practices in gratitude, positive psychology, neuroscience, and positive organizational behavior (POB). In Part 2, we further examine POS (Positive Organizational Behaviors) and strategies that incorporate the previously discussed topics. Read more. 

Contributor: Liz Eddy Scully

Most adults recognize the need for an end-of-life plan, but few have created one. In fact, 6 in 10 U.S. adults have no plans in place for their end-of-life. Further, research has shown planning improves quality of care, patient outcomes, and the bottom line for the healthcare system, yet most people aren’t asked to do them by their health-care providers until they’ve reached end-of-life, if at all.

Most healthcare providers want to support their patients in end-of-life planning and facing mortality. So, why is the topic of end-of-life so rarely discussed in the healthcare setting? And when it is discussed, why is it often in the last moments of life when it’s too late to make a legally sound plan? Read more. 

Contributor: Stephanie Ludwig, PhD, M Div

In 2022 a team of researchers conducted a systematic review of evidence concerning spirituality in serious illness. Their top three recommendations with implications for healthcare are: (1) provide patient-centered spiritual care for seriously ill patients, (2) educate interdisciplinary care teams of seriously ill patients on spiritual care, and (3) include specialized spiritual care practitioners in the care of seriously ill patients. Read more. 

Contributor: Oscar Leandro, WG'23, G'23

Wharton Global Health Volunteers, a student-run club that provides pro bono consulting services for opportunity-rich health and healthcare organizations, partnered with Somo Africa as one of its projects in Fall 2022. The goal of the project was to develop a partnership model to help Somo scale its acceleration model for entrepreneurs in Kenya and Tanzania. Read more.