As today’s health care environment continues to change and evolve, it’s more important than ever to have steady, forward-thinking leaders at the helm to navigate the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Fortunately, many physicians and other health professionals in executive roles are up to the task—and making a significant impact. Recently, Modern Healthcare identified and honored 50 of the most influential clinical executives who are shaping the future of health care through their clinical expertise, leadership and innovation both within their organizations and in the field at large.
This year, Modern Healthcare’s list includes leaders from organizations that are part of the AMA Health System Member Program, which provides enterprise solutions to equip leadership, physicians and care teams with resources to help drive the future of medicine.
Meet some of these clinical leaders who are driving innovation, improving outcomes and serving their communities, while often advocating for patients and physicians at a national level.
CenterWell Senior Primary Care
As the president of CenterWell Senior Primary care, Sanjay Shetty, MD, knows achieving the organization’s mission to help older adults live healthier, happier lives starts with accessing care. To ensure older adults have options, Dr. Shetty has led CenterWell’s primary care expansion initiatives, which total 335 centers caring for more than 430,000 patients in 15 states as of June 30, 2025.
In addition to care center services, Dr. Shetty has also guided efforts to improve and expand home health care and pharmacy services for older adults. CenterWell Home Health operates more than 350 branches, with staff making 9 million home health visits annually. It has consistently earned above average quality of patient care ratings. CenterWell Pharmacy serves 2.5 million patients and dispenses 60 million prescriptions annually. CenterWell Specialty Pharmacy also recently won Managed Markets Insight & Technology’s Patient Choice Awards for the seventh time in eight years. The award honors specialty pharmacies that provide best-in-class customer satisfaction and overall patient care.
To further advocate for and serve older adults, Dr. Shetty also leads research looking at the benefits of providing senior-specific care. In a recent study, CenterWell and Humana partnered with Harvard University and found that senior-focused primary care improves access for Medicare Advantage members, particularly older adults in underserved communities.
HCA Healthcare
With more than 100,000 nurses across 190 locations, Sammie Mosier, DHA, MA, BSN, NE-BC, senior vice president and chief nurse executive at HCA Healthcare, leads one of the largest nursing workforces in the country. Mosier prioritizes advocating for nurses, driving clinical excellence and supporting professional development of nurse leaders at every level. She is leading integration and expansion of Galen College of Nursing, which HCA Healthcare acquired in 2020, and has expanded the organizations clinical education platform to more than 1,000 educators who support nursing and allied health staff competencies.
In the face of the care complexity gap, Mosier knows this support needs to begin as soon as new nurses come on board at HCA Healthcare. The industry is in the middle of a significant change in the nursing workforce as Baby Boomers retire and younger generations graduate and start their careers, leaving gaps in everything from clinical expertise to institutional knowledge. That’s why she launched a program to pair new nurses with clinical support coordinators—highly experienced nurses who focus solely on supporting new graduates.
Clinical support coordinators provide education, feedback and mentoring to help early-career nurses get their bearings, improve their skills, build their confidence and focus on their well-being. Last year alone, this program helped HCA Healthcare successfully onboard—and support—more than 12,000 new graduate nurses.
With nursing and physician shortages across the industry, Mosier’s leadership is helping to build the nurse pipeline, develop highly competent nurses, streamline technology workflows and support physicians and nonphysician providers in delivering safe, quality care.
Henry Ford Health
Throughout his career as both a gynecologic oncologist and a health care executive, Adnan Munkarah, MD, has centered his work around providing good outcomes to patients and improving community health. With these goals guiding him as the president of clinical enterprise and chief physician executive at Henry Ford Health, Dr. Munkarah continues to drive growth, clinical excellence and quality patient care through strategic innovations and partnerships.
Most recently, Dr. Munkarah spearheaded the launch of Henry Ford Health’s population health company, Populance, to help improve community health outcomes. Populance helps physician offices, health plans and health systems identify high-risk patients, manage patients who have chronic conditions, close care gaps and reduce costs.
Dr. Munkarah has also been deeply involved in the joint venture between Henry Ford Health and Ascension Michigan to expand access to quality health care to patients across Michigan. Through this new venture, Henry Ford Health now employs about 50,000 team members at more than 550 sites across Michigan, including 13 acute care hospitals. By significantly expanding Henry Ford Health’s footprint, it’s now easier for more patients throughout Michigan to access care.
At the same time, Dr. Munkarah has remained a steadfast advocate for women’s health. This year, he helped secure funding for a center led by researchers from multiple organizations to address maternal mortality.
Ochsner Health
As the chief wellness officer at Ochsner Health, Nigel Girgrah, MD, PhD, is dedicated to building a culture that promotes and nurtures well-being for physicians and other health care providers.
Through the Office of Professional Well-Being at Ochsner Health, Dr. Girgrah has led efforts to improve physician well-being and professional fulfillment by enhancing practice efficiencies and building resilience among individuals and teams. He’s also committed to combatting the stigma around seeking mental health services, especially for physicians.
These well-being initiatives have had a significant impact. In fact, recently, Dr. Girgrah introduced and scaled a personal leadership program that increased engagement, professional satisfaction and resilience among participants. It also reduced burnout rates to 25% among participants of the program, compared to a burnout rate of 44% among physicians who did not participate in the program.
Get the latest news on physician well-being
Subscribe for insights and real-world solutions delivered straight to your inbox.
Sanford Health
Tommy Ibrahim, MD, MHA, executive vice president and president and CEO of Sanford Health Plan, is dedicated to transformational growth from both a patient care and business perspective.
With a commitment to improving access to coordinated, affordable and member-centered care and coverage, Dr. Ibrahim guided the launch of a Medicare Advantage joint venture that expanded health care options for older adults living in rural Nebraska.
Under Dr. Ibrahim’s leadership, Sanford Health Plan has spearheaded population health initiatives designed to improve health outcomes, particularly for high-risk patients. This program has reduced emergency department visits by 49%, reduced inpatient admissions by 23%, and improved key health metrics, such as blood pressure, depression and A1C.
From a business perspective, Dr. Ibrahim has led Sanford Health Plan through significant growth over the last year. Sanford Health Plan and Security Health Plan united under a shared operations and governance structure as part of Sanford Health’s merger with Marshfield Clinic Health System, bringing value and coverage to 425,000 members.
The Permanente Medical Group
As the CEO and executive director of The Permanente Medical Group, Maria Ansari, MD, is continuously moving the needle in physician well-being, patient outcomes and experience, innovations to support care and more.
For instance, last year, Dr. Ansari spearheaded an initiative to launch ambient AI listening technology to support 25,000 physicians across all Permanente medical groups. The technology has helped improve the patient experience, while also easing the administrative burden on physicians—and, therefore, helping to reduce physician burnout.
Additionally, Dr. Ansari has leaned into Kaiser Permanente’s 80-year history as a leader in value-based care by serving as a passionate and strategic advocate for this care model. She sees it as the model of the future, and she’s shared her vision, insight and expertise in this field at all levels—from internal stakeholders all the way to Capitol Hill.
Dr. Ansari has also met with members of Congress and leaders in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to advocate for value-based care, including measures to support the physician workforce pipeline and to improve health care quality, health IT and coordinated care.
