The footprint of AMCs in the US has expanded significantly over the past five years—not through the creation of new AMCs, but through acquisitions and partnerships with community and non-academic health systems. The opportunity is enormous, but still largely unrealized. Because the real work doesn’t happen at the deal table. It begins after, with integration. “Systemness” has become a popular buzzword, but it can’t be declared in a boardroom. It has to be experienced by the most important stakeholders: patients.
I had the privilege of exploring this topic with Kevin Mahoney, CEO of Penn Medicine, on our monthly podcast with Becker’s Healthcare. We unpacked what true integration looks like in practice: from governance and medical group alignment to culture, leadership, and the shared sense of purpose, humility, and trust required to make it real.
