The healthcare system in the United States is rapidly approaching an inflection point. Practices grapple with challenges like staff and equipment shortages, the complexities of value-based care (VBC) and revenue cycle management—all while trying to promote positive patient communications and relationships.
Here at athenahealth, our leaders pride themselves on building and fostering relationships at every level of the healthcare system to better understand growing challenges and shortcomings in the industry. With established lines of communication and an open feedback loop, we can foresee and speak to some of the hottest trends in healthcare.
Nele Jessel, MD: Chief Medical Officer, athenahealth
Dr. Jessel has 20 years of experience as a practicing pediatrician and now acts as a clinical informaticist invested in the ways in which technology can enhance healthcare. Some of her interests include:
How small practices can implement and optimize with tech
Using tech to reduce clinician burnout
Leveraging EHRs and insights from tech to analyze and find solutions in behavioral health and patient communications
Paul is the former CEO of PatientKeeper with over 25 years in healthcare IT. He utilizes this extensive background to help drive the purposeful innovation that clinicians need. Some of his work includes the following:
Optimizing practice workflows
The need for EHR simplification and ease of use to help ease physician burden
Michael has prior experience in healthcare strategy at Deloitte and as the VP of Platform & Data Services at athenahealth while also serving on the CommonWell Health Alliance Board. Michael’s responsibilities include:
With over 25 years of experience in technology marketing, Stacy helps spearhead brand growth and market impact with full-funnel campaigns. This includes brand, communications, and demand strategies. She speaks to the role of AI in health tech, including:
Utilizing AI to service practices in providing more patient-centric care
Rebranding the role of AI in the health tech arena to ground solution-based work in reality
Chris Kondrat: Chief Customer Officer, athenahealth
Armed with 15 years of prior experience at KPMG and several years in his previous role of Vice President of Commercial Strategy and Operations at athenahealth, Chris focuses on customer performance improvement by way of clinical transformation and technology:
Serving a platform that empowers customers to achieve better healthcare outcomes
Leveraging technology to optimize revenue efficiency and dedicate more time to patient care
Alicia Bassolino: Vice President of Analytics and AI, athenahealth
Alicia boasts nearly 20 years of experience with athenahealth, previously serving as the Executive Director of Product Analytics. She speaks to AI functionality and EHR usability, including:
How physicians experience and respond to AI evolution in real time
Joe Ganley: Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs, athenahealth
From his role as a healthcare advocacy lead at McKesson to his current role at athenahealth, Joe has over 25 years of experience as a healthcare policy leader helping to shape regulatory strategy at the federal, state, and local levels. He writes on regulatory considerations when integrating AI technology into healthcare performance, including:
How health tech can assist with reimbursement to account for operational costs
Using AI technology in an equitable matter to cover a broader clientele base
Learn what our leaders have to say about top healthcare industry trends and how athenahealth solutions can help streamline clinical efficiency and revenue cycle management so physicians and practices can focus on what matters most – their patients.
thought leadershiphealthcare trendsclosing care gapsclinical efficiencypatient communicationpatient satisfactionprimary carebehavioral healthhealth systemindependent medical practice
More thought leadership resources
Stacy Simpson
June 05, 2025
4 min read
AI in healthcare
4 ways to rebrand AI in healthcare
The key to building trust is separating hype from reality. Read on to discover how to rebrand healthcare AI.