Physician Enterprises: Operational and Financial Strategies for 2026

Day 1 Welcome and Meeting Overview

Fred Horton, MHA, President, AMGA Consulting

The State of the Union of the Physician Enterprise in 2026

Fred Horton, MHA, President, AMGA Consulting

The rules have changed. Organizations that hedge on implementation, create carve-outs, or wait for "the right time" are running out of runway. As we navigate 2026, medical groups face evolving pressures: accelerating provider shortages, aging populations with complex care demands, shifting reimbursement models, and intensifying competition for talent. This keynote cuts through the noise to identify the critical operational and cultural imperatives that position organizations for success. Learn what you need to be watching, measuring, and acting on now to build momentum and sustainable performance in the year ahead.

SESSION 1

Elevate Your Leadership: First Year Strategies for Physician Practice Success

Hillary Miller, PhD, M.Ed, MSOD, Learning Executive, HCA HealthCare

The most critical leadership role in physician practice management is often the most overlooked. Directors of Physician Services sit at the vital intersection between C-suite strategy and frontline operations—yet many step into these complex positions with little formal support or structured development. Hillary Miller shares how HCA Healthcare built a groundbreaking leadership program that transforms capable administrators into confident, effective leaders. Learn the framework for identifying who needs this support, designing curriculum that addresses real operational challenges, and scaling a program that drives measurable impact. Walk away with a replicable blueprint to elevate these essential leaders in your own organization.

Break

SESSION 2

Patient Access: A Fundamentals Strategy 

Beth Pittman, MBA, Senior Director AMGA Consulting

Patient access isn't just about scheduling, it's a strategic imperative that directly impacts your organization's financial health, physician satisfaction, and community reputation. In this session, Beth Pittman delivers actionable strategies to drive results. Learn how template variability, patient contact hours, panel management, and operational inefficiencies create hidden capacity in your current system. Walk away with specific tactics to measure what matters, identify where your organization is leaving appointments—and revenue—on the table, and drive sustainable improvements that benefit patients, providers, and your bottom line.

SESSION 3

Integration of Provider Compensation Plans

Joseph DeFulvio, DO, MBA , Chief Medical Officer Finance and Operations, Lehigh Valley Physician Group; Catriona Harrop, MD, FACP, SFHM, Associate Chief Physician Executive, Jefferson Medical Group; Matt Wells, PhD, Senior Director AMGA Consulting

What happens when two large healthcare organizations merge and look to align compensation programs? In this case study, leaders from Jefferson Health and Lehigh Valley Physician Group share their journey to merging differing compensation programs and leveraging the strengths of each into a singular, unified compensation approach. Learn the practical (and ongoing) strategies they used to align goals, maintain transparency, find necessary level of complexity, and join providers under a common compensation philosophy. Whether you're facing a similar situation or simply aiming to align your compensation plan, this session reflects on real-world lessons to create clarity and physician buy-in.

Break 

SESSION 4

Advancing Clinical Leadership

Mark Sannes, MD, Chief Medical Officer, HealthPartners Care Group, and Beth Averbeck, MD, Senior Medical Director Primary Care, HealthPartners Care Group

Every initiative discussed at this conference—compensation alignment, patient access optimization, operational transformation—succeeds or fails based on one critical factor: effective clinician leadership. Yet asking physicians to transition from individual contributor to leading their peers while maintaining a full clinical schedule is one of healthcare's most challenging leadership journeys. Dr. Mark Sannes and Dr. Beth Averbeck from HealthPartners share their decade-long evolution building comprehensive support systems for clinician leaders. Learn how they developed programming that addresses the unique challenges of leading clinical peers, created coaching and mentoring infrastructure, and built a culture where leadership development is individually owned, leader supported, and organizationally encouraged.

Day 1 Wrap-Up & Preview of Day 2 

Fred Horton, MHA, President, AMGA Consulting

Day 2 Welcome and Opening Comments

Fred Horton, MHA, President, AMGA Consulting

SESSION 5

Gaining Operational Efficiencies

Shiloh Evren, MHA, Vice President, Samaritan Medical Group; Rebekah Ashdown, MHA, FACHE, CHFP, CPC, Associate Vice President of Patient Access & Referral Management, Samaritan Medical Group; Jamie Reddick, Chief Operating Officer, Graybill Sharp Community Medical Group; Beth Pittman, MBA, Senior Director AMGA Consulting

Staffing challenges aren't going away in 2026. Operational efficiency isn't just a competitive advantage; it's an imperative for medical groups. This session moves beyond the staffing challenges to showcase how two innovative organizations are finding real efficiencies through the strategic combination of technology and workflow redesign. AMGA members Samaritan Medical Group will share how they've streamlined prescription refills, and Graybill Sharp Community Medical Group demonstrates their AI-powered patient contact and scheduling system. These aren't theoretical concepts—they're practical, accessible solutions already delivering results. Attendees will come away with a methodology for identifying inefficiencies in your own operations and how technology plus workflow innovation is a viable path forward.

SESSION 6

Physician Compensation Incentive Reconciliation Methodologies

Kelsi O’Brien, MHSA, Vice President, AMGA Consulting

A solid provider compensation plan is about more than just the “right” formula. The process and timing of reconciliation is equally important. In this session we will explore topics like data look back period, frequency of incentive payments, transparency in reporting and tips for education. You can expect discussion about the pros and cons of the various methods and key items to consider if you are looking to transition.

Break

SESSION 7

Strategies to Combat Clinical Staff Shortages

Rebekah Hennigan, MHA, RN, Director of Primary Care and Quality, St Clair Medical Group; Alissa Graysay SHRM-CP, Director System Recruitment and Employee Relations, St Clair Health

Medical assistants are vital for efficient clinical operations—yet they're also among the most difficult positions to recruit and retain. High turnover, limited career advancement, and inadequate training create a perpetual staffing cycle that undermines practice performance. St. Clair Medical Group is looking to break that cycle by building a scalable MA training program with clear career ladders and development pathways. In this session, Rebekah Hennigan and Alissa Graysay share what makes their program successful, how it's improved retention and operational performance, and—most importantly—what your organization can replicate. Walk away with a practical blueprint for investing in frontline staff in ways that deliver measurable results.

SESSION 8

Compensation Design – How to Effectively Engage Physicians through Compensation Change Management

Kris Doan, President, Augusta Medical Group; Matt Wells, PhD, Senior Director AMGA Consulting

Compensation changes can frighten most healthcare leaders—and for good reason. Get it wrong, and you risk losing physicians, eroding trust, and creating cultural fractures that take years to repair. But what if the process itself could strengthen physician partnership rather than threaten it? Kris Doan, President of Augusta Medical Group, shares their real-world experience redesigning compensation through genuine physician engagement. This session is about the change management approach that transforms potentially divisive changes into shared success. Learn how transparency, early physician involvement, and treating providers as partners creates buy-in, minimizes fallout, and builds the foundation for sustainable change.

SESSION 9

What Leaders Should be Planning in 2026 for Their APC Workforce

Anne Wright, DMSc, MPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA Senior Vice President Advanced Practice Ambulatory Operations, Common Spirit Health and Chair of the AMGA APP Council; Beth Pittman, MBA, Senior Director AMGA Consulting; Nicole Skelly Shea, MHA, Senior Consultant AMGA Consulting

Advanced practice clinicians now comprise approximately 45% of the provider workforce—yet many organizations still lack a deliberate, strategic approach to leveraging this critical resource. In 2026, an aligned APC strategy isn't optional; it's essential to meeting the needs of your communities and sustaining operational excellence. Anne Wright, Nicole Skelly Shea, and Beth Pittman will deliver crucial market intelligence on APC compensation trends, utilization patterns, and specialty mix, then facilitate discussion on how innovative organizations are building successful APC care models. Walk away with a practical roadmap for developing or refining your APC workforce strategy this year—ensuring your organization can recruit, retain, and fully leverage APCs to drive sustainable performance.

Final Comments & Adjournment

Fred Horton, MHA, President, AMGA Consulting