Phoenix Rises: ACMA Leadership and Physician Advisor Conference 2021

As the plane’s tires lurched away from the Nashville ground and the wings lifted us airborne, I was struck by a grateful feeling. As a road warrior alongside the XSOLIS team over the past eight years, the lack of travel and bustle in my schedule has been a jarring change, certainly heightened by an emotional roller coaster of the pandemic. Yet there has been hope: hope that through our efforts at mitigation and management, we as a society and as humans will come out on the other side stronger. As the ground receded below and we hurtled toward Arizona, that hope swelled.

Typically bustling but more reserved this year, the American Case Management Association’s Leadership and Physician Advisor Conference in Phoenix provided a safe and energizing environment to convene. We saw familiar faces, we enjoyed sessions and socializing, we applied Chapstick against the desert dryness, we celebrated and learned.

I was honored to be joined onstage by XSOLIS client and healthcare collaborator, Pamela Foster. As Vice President of Care Coordination at HonorHealth, Pam has been instrumental in driving success for her organization and has been a treasured friend of the XSOLIS team for years. In our mainstage session we explored the evolution of healthcare and the who, what, and why of artificial intelligence’s impact on the healthcare landscape. It was a session punctuated by Pam’s real-world experience in selecting partners for AI-driven change as well as her experience with homegrown solutions. Our main theme? AI can’t do it all (yet), and leaders should educate themselves on where the industry is and more importantly, where it is going.

After all was done and as the plane accelerated toward a return to my home base in Nashville, I felt a sense of relief. Not only was the sun rising in Phoenix, but a post-pandemic future appears just over the horizon. Here’s hoping we can meet in person again soon.