Methodology

For the list, Modern Healthcare accepted nominations from May 8, 2023, to July 17, 2023. In addition to individual innovators, the publication also accepted nominations for the most innovative organizations for the first time this year.

To be eligible, nominees had to be at least at the director level at a provider organization (hospital, health system, clinic, or physician group) or insurer. Researchers and public policy officials were eligible, but their nominations had to reflect the real-world impact of their work. Suppliers and vendors were also eligible.

Nominations were reviewed and judged on the following criteria:

• Specific initiatives taken to address a community health need, streamline consumer/patient access to services, increase organizational quality of safety metrics, or improve an organization's financial performance
• Specific steps taken to advance a culture of innovation at a specific organization or across the whole healthcare industry

Each nomination was presented to a panel of judges and Modern Healthcare's top editors for consideration.

The top innovators for 2023

This year's list honors 25 leaders:

• Feby Abraham, EVP and chief strategy officer at Memorial Hermann Health System. Abraham created and co-leads the organization's Innovation Hub and has partnered with several innovators to launch over a dozen service line products, which range from home health to specialty pharmacy.
• Justin Barad, founder and CEO of Osso VR. Barad founded Osso VR in 2016 to fill gaps in contemporary surgical training, such as outdated curricula and a lack of resources for in-person skill building.
• Zenobia Brown, SVP and associate CMO at Northwell Health. Brown helped launched the organization's Center for Maternal Health, which aims to reduce maternal mortality rates, especially among Black women.
• Nicole Caputo, VP of experience and innovation at UCHealth. Five years ago, Caputo helped develop and deploy Livi, an AI-powered, patient-facing virtual assistant in UCHealth's app. Since then, 1.3 million users have interacted with Livi, and over 60,000 have used it for basic account troubleshooting.
• Erik Cardenas, co-founder and CEO of Zócalo Health. Zócalo Health aims to provide virtual primary care for the Latino community and has operations in California, Texas, and Washington state.
• Soy Chen, chief data scientist at Lightbeam Health Solutions. Chen and her team used social determinants of health to develop predictive models to forecast potential readmissions and avoidable ED visits. Her work also helped develop Radian, a free toolkit to help organizations address health disparities and improve health equity.
• Deborah DiSanzo, president of Best Buy Health. DiSanzo oversees Best Buy Health's well at home, aging at home, and care at home focal areas. She also leads the company's corporate development and incubation teams.
• Todd Dunn, VP of enterprise innovation at Advocate Health. In 2021, Dunn introduced a new framework called Design for Impact, which helps ensure technology solutions address the needs of those who deliver and receive care. Several hospitals have used the framework to design new pilot programs.
• Peter Fleischut, group SVP and chief information and transformation officer at NewYork-Presbyterian. Fleischut led the implementation of a single EHR system across 10 hospitals and two medical schools and helped expand the organization's telehealth services.
• Jerry Fox, SVP and chief information and digital officer at BJC Healthcare. Fox has led several digital initiatives at BJC, including a new EHR system, increased scheduling capabilities for nursing staff, and improved consumer engagement tools.
• Tadashi Funahashi, chief innovation and transformation officer at Kaiser Permanente Southern California. Funahashi helped develop an in-home cardiac rehab program and chairs the Inter-Regional Implant Registries Committee.
• John Halamka, president of Mayo Clinic Platform. Halamka is helping Mayo Clinic become a global leader in digital healthcare through partnerships on products and programs around early disease detection, condition treatment, and operational enhancement.
• Dan Hurry, president of Advantus Health Partners. Under Hurry's leadership, Advantus has invested in supply chain talent development in graduate programs and helped public universities develop curricula on health supply chain.
• Andrea Kao, VP of innovation at Allina Health | Aetna. Kao has helped implement several programs that coordinate services for Allina Health | Aetna members and is co-leading the implementation of Cedar, a virtual patient payment and engagement platform.
• Tom Koutsoumpas, CEO of the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI). Koutsompas helped NPHI grow to more than 100 member organizations and established NPHI's Innovation lab to address advanced illness care needs.
• Doug Langa, EVP of North America operations and president of Novo Nordisk. Under Langa's leadership, Novo Nordisk has received FDA approval for two drugs to treat type 2 diabetes and manage weight. He is also helping Novo become an innovation incubator, with goals to address Alzheimer's, chronic kidney disease, and more.
• Jennifer McCaney, executive director of the UCLA Biodesign Hub for Medical Technology and Digital Health Innovation at UCLA Health. McCaney aims to bring together the next generation of leaders to address unmet patient needs and promote equitable care through the Biodesign Hub and the UCLA Health TechQuity Accelerator.
• Heather O'Sullivan, president of healthcare at home at Mass General Brigham. O'Sullivan leads the health system's home hospital program, which offers services for the equivalent of 30 beds a day and aims to double that capacity by the end of 2023.
• Dennis Pullin, president and CEO of Virtua Health. Pullin has helped develop several new innovations at Virtua, including a proton therapy center. He also helped the health system expand its mobile health initiatives, including a farmers' market, pediatric services, and cancer screenings.
• Sabiha Raoof, CMO and chair of radiology at MediSys Health Network. Raoof and her team have helped the organization gain deeper insight into its diverse patient population and collected data on patients' health-related social needs to trigger automatic referrals as needed.
• Daryl Tol, head of the Health Assurance Ecosystem at General Catalyst. The Health Assurance Ecosystem includes 16 health systems that work together and with General Catalyst to test products in response to real-world situations and specific needs.
• Glen Tullman, CEO of Transcarent. Tull aims to reduce health costs faced by self-insured employers through Transcarent's app that allows employees to communicate with board-certified providers, make appointments, and compare drug prices.
• Hisham Valiuddin, medical director of clinical innovation at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. Valiuddin created an initiative that uses data intelligence to make programs and services more member-centric, improve care, and reduce costs.
• Kara Odom Walker, EVP and chief population health officer at Nemours Children's Health. Walker has used the health system's investment and data capabilities to create a holistic health strategy and helped create the Whole Child Health Alliance and the Ginsburg Institute for Health Equity to help transform children's healthcare.
• Sherri Zink, SVP and chief data and engagement officer at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. Zink and her team have developed tools to continuously monitor community health, which has allowed them to take a more personalized approach to patient outreach and health outcomes.

2023's most innovative organizations

The most innovative organizations in 2023, according to Modern Healthcare, are:

• Banner | Aetna (Phoenix, AZ)
• Bayesian Health (New York, NY)
• Children's Hospital and Medical Center (Omaha, NE)
• Cincinnati Children's Hospital (Cincinnati, OH)
• First Choice Neurology (Medley, FL)
• Guthrie (Sayre, PA)
• NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health (Evanston, IL)
• Phoenix Children's Hospital (Phoenix, AZ)
• SCAN Group (Long Beach, CA)
• Veterans Health Administration (Washington, D.C.)

(Modern Healthcare, 9/21; Modern Healthcare Top Innovators – 2022 list, accessed 9/22; Modern Healthcare Top Innovator Organizations – 2023 list, accessed 9/22; Modern Healthcare Top Innovators methodology, accessed 9/22)