The power of physician leadership

The future of health care will require constant innovation, collaboration, and coordination to deliver high-quality, affordable, accessible care to patients. That’s why physician leadership is so important in health care.

Today, many health care organizations are hampered by misaligned incentives, fragmented systems, and bureaucratic barriers. These obstacles create inefficiencies and impede the ability of physicians to practice medicine according to their best judgment and evidence.

Including physician leaders at different decision-making levels gives them the opportunity to shape the culture, strategy, and operations of their organizations. Physician leaders bring clinical experience and insight to bear, ensuring that the quality of clinical care and patient satisfaction remain primary goals. This is the kind of environment many physicians dream of practicing medicine in when they finish medical school, before facing a broken and disjointed health care system with many conflicting goals and rewards.

Physician leadership at Kaiser Permanente

Since 1945, Kaiser Permanente has relied upon physician leadership as part its value-based model of care. Unlike the fee-for-service model that has dominated U.S. health care, Kaiser Permanente’s model removes incentives to overtreat, overtest, and overprescribe. This approach benefits both patients and health systems, because physicians can focus solely on the best course of care. Doctors also direct care teams, work with specialists across many fields, and involve patients and their families in care decisions.

Our brand of physician leadership extends beyond clinical care to all areas and aspects of the medical group. Physicians at Permanente Medical Groups lead every business department, including operations, capital projects, process improvements, research, teaching, quality, finance, IT, government relations, and more.

The executive medical directors of the Permanente Medical Groups — who represent more than 24,000 physicians — not only serve as CEOs of their organizations, they also still see patients. Their breadth and depth of personal experience guides how Kaiser Permanente uses clinical technology and influences patient communications.

“You don’t need a title to be a leader in our organization. The best ideas always come from those who are right at the front line dealing with day-to-day issues.”

— Ramin Davidoff, MD, co-CEO of The Permanente Federation; Executive Medical Director and Chair of the Board, Southern California Permanente Medical Group; Chair of the Board and CEO, The Southeast Permanente Medical Group; Chair of the Board and CEO, Hawaii Permanente Medical Group.

Related: Physician leadership at Kaiser Permanente

A commitment to physician leadership

At Kaiser Permanente, physicians become organizational leaders after years of training, research, and experiences both positive and negative that shape their practice and care delivery.

Indeed, Permanente Medical Groups believe so strongly in the importance of physician leadership, they host the most extensive leadership training programs in the country. These include leadership opportunities focused on management skills, the business of health care, change management, and operations.

The unique combination of superior clinical expertise with deep knowledge in areas such as care delivery, research, health information technology, and business elevates many Permanente physicians’ professional profiles. They create evidence that drive change to industry standards, lead specialty societies, and are often sought out for their expertise by policymakers, professional associations, health care organizations, major industry conferences and events, working groups, think tanks, and media outlets.

Permanente physician leaders are often in the news discussing topics like health care innovation, advanced care at home, artificial intelligence, and the physician workforce.

Related physician leadership story: Spotlighting physician leadership in an era of change

A unique approach to physician leadership

Kaiser Permanente’s cancer care program is just one example of how physician leadership makes a difference. A redesign of processes led by physician leaders allowed for medical support by oncology subspecialists for patients nationally, with a new program on track to improve care coordination. What made this rapid transformation possible is physicians leading every aspect of the redesign, with support from other clinicians, staff, and health plan colleagues.

The industry-leading levels of physician-led coordination and integration provide a number of advantages, such as improved clinical care for patients and lowered costs by increasing efficiencies. Permanente physicians also help remove administrative burdens by creating a truly interoperable system — a goal the entire health care industry has worked towards for decades but remains elusive. Other health systems have begun the work to replicate key elements of the integrated care model with the aim of boosting quality, cutting costs, and improving satisfaction among clinicians and patients.

Related physician leadership story: Permanente Federation co-CEOs talk health care innovation, quality, and physician leadership

Physician leadership in action: a physician profile

One of the physician leaders who exemplifies the opportunities available at Kaiser Permanente is Maria Ansari, MD, FACC. Dr. Ansari began her career as a cardiologist with The Permanente Medical Group, where she grew into various leadership roles, including chief of cardiology and physician in chief at the Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center. In these roles, she led the development and implementation of several quality improvement initiatives and served on several boards of directors. Notably, Dr. Ansari was also the chief medical office liaison to San Francisco’s COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force during the early stages of the pandemic.

In 2023, Dr. Ansari was appointed co-CEO of The Permanente Federation, the organization that represents the national interests of the Permanente Medical Groups. In partnership with co-CEO Ramin Davidoff, MD, they oversee the strategic direction, governance, and advocacy of more than 24,000 Permanente physicians. Dr. Ansari also serves as CEO and executive director of The Permanente Medical Group and president and CEO of the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group.

Addressing health equity at every level

In addition to improving outcomes, physician leadership at Kaiser Permanente is also about leading with humanity, helping patients with issues they face, as well as tackling systemic care issues. Practicing in a value-based care model that prioritizes patient-centered care makes it easier for doctors to address these problems.

Health equity is a priority at Kaiser Permanente, and Permanente physicians play an important role in reducing barriers to care. Permanente clinicians are committed to practicing culturally competent and sensitive care, assessing social determinants of health, and endeavoring to improve patient well-being holistically, including through mind, body, and spirit.

The following innovative pilots and test programs are examples of efforts across our medical groups showing positive results:

• Our colorectal cancer screening program essentially eliminated disparities in colorectal cancer death rates between Black and white members
• Our Cocoon Pregnancy Care Program improved care for patients before, during, and after pregnancy, in part by addressing systemic socioeconomic and access issues
• Our Gender Expression Care program addresses social stressors faced by transgender and nonbinary patients, filling an important gap in care

Beyond organizational programs, Permanente physicians strive to provide culturally competent care at the individual encounter level, promoting respect for cultural differences and stronger patient-physician relationships. This commitment to meeting the needs of all our patients is reflected in the diversity our own physicians — 58% of Permanente physicians identify with and represent communities of color. These efforts are built in to how we train the Permanente physicians of tomorrow — Kaiser Permanente has one of the most diverse medical schools in the nation, per U.S. News & World Report.

The future of health care in America

Permanente physicians are part of a physician-led, team-based, integrated system that delivers high-quality care to millions of patients. They have the opportunity to lead at every level, from developing innovative programs that address the needs of diverse communities, to reducing administrative burdens and promoting physician well-being, to setting national standards for quality outcomes in cancer, heart disease, and diabetes care. In addition, they work in supportive environments that foster collaboration, learning, and joy in medicine. By practicing Permanente Medicine, physicians not only advance their careers — they positively impact the lives of patients, colleagues, and the communities they serve.