Tom Golias, SVP of Health Plan Relations at AMSURG, joins Charlene Wang to share lessons from his experience on both the payer and provider sides. They discuss how healthcare leaders can use data, quality, patient satisfaction, and value-based care to strengthen their position at the negotiating table.

They also cover why scale alone does not guarantee leverage, how regular payer communication can prevent costly problems, and what separates a true payer relationship from a simple contract exchange.

For healthcare executives leading finance, revenue cycle, managed care, or payer strategy, this conversation offers a practical look at building contracts that work for both sides.

Thomas Golias is Senior Vice President of Health Plan Relations at AMSURG, one of the nation’s leading ambulatory surgery center platforms. A visionary and results-driven senior healthcare executive, he brings more than three decades of experience in complex contract negotiations, total medical cost management, and value-based performance programs.

Thomas has built his career on both sides of the payer-provider table, a dual perspective that shapes how he approaches network strategy, acquisition integration, and long-term partnership alignment. He is known for tackling complex challenges in matrix organizations with a direct, no-nonsense style and a focus on operational excellence.

Based in the greater Indianapolis area, Thomas holds a Master’s degree from Rush University and is a regular voice at national ASC and healthcare investment conferences.

Steven Shore, RCM Operating Partner, Shore Healthcare Consulting, joins the Healthcare Intelligence Podcast to discuss what healthcare organizations need in place before introducing AI into revenue cycle operations.

In this episode, Steven explores:

• Why AI acts as an accelerator, not a cure-all
• How weak processes can limit the value of new technology
• The importance of ownership, accountability, and quality checks
• Why RCM performance reflects the entire healthcare operation
• How to turn data and AI insights into day-to-day action
• Which KPIs leaders should measure consistently

A grounded discussion for healthcare executives evaluating AI, automation, and new revenue cycle technology, and looking for measurable financial results.

Steve Shore is a healthcare executive, operating partner, and advisor specializing in revenue cycle performance, cash flow optimization, and operational execution across multi-site healthcare organizations. He partners with private equity sponsors, transaction advisors, and management teams to improve cash conversion, strengthen operating discipline, and drive value creation throughout the investment lifecycle.

His experience spans operational diligence, post-acquisition integration, organizational transformation, and the development of scalable, KPI-driven operating models that enhance financial performance and enterprise value. Steve believes sustainable enterprise value is created when disciplined execution consistently translates into predictable cash flow. His work focuses on helping healthcare organizations build the accountability and operating discipline necessary to achieve that outcome.

Steve earned his Master of Business Administration in Finance from the Fox School of Business at Temple University and a Bachelor of Science in Health Planning & Administration from The Pennsylvania State University.

Charlene and Sap discuss:

• Building an MSO during and after COVID
• Improving eligibility, prior authorization, and front-end operations
• Winning physician buy-in for new technology
• Why healthcare organizations should redesign workflows before adding AI
• The balance between automation and human expertise
• How to prioritize AI projects that actually move the needle

If you're leading operations, revenue cycle, finance, or digital transformation, this episode is full of practical lessons from someone who has done it at scale.

Sap Sinha is a healthcare executive and strategist who has spent over two decades building high-growth organizations at the intersection of technology and clinical operations. Most recently, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Allied Digestive Health, one of the largest independent gastroenterology networks in the United States. Over his tenure, Sap helped scale ADH fourfold, growing the organization to more than 200 physicians and 85 clinical offices across New York and New Jersey. He led the re-engineering of the company’s core infrastructure, introducing revenue cycle automation, AI-driven patient outreach, and a modular middleware technology stack that has become a model for how specialty practices can modernize without getting trapped by legacy point solutions.

Prior to ADH, Sap was a Regional Vice President at SCA Health, part of Optum, where he managed a large network of ambulatory surgery centers. His foundational training in value creation and strategic scaling came from twelve years in management consulting, including roles as a Senior Principal and Partner at Boston Consulting Group and an early career start at Ernst & Young. He currently serves as CEO of Tandem-Allied Clinical Research and advises private equity and venture capital firms as an operating partner and strategic advisor, with a focus on healthcare services and clinical research platforms.

Sap holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Economics, an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, and a Master of Health Care Innovation from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a frequent speaker on the “human-AI hybrid” organization, a vocal advocate for colorectal cancer screening, and a firm believer that in the digital transformation of medicine, people drive change, not technology alone.

Terry Bohlke, longtime ASC executive and past president of ASCA, shares what healthcare leaders need to understand about building, operating, and growing a successful surgery center. Drawing on decades of experience across finance, operations, development, and acquisitions, Terry explains why details matter so much in the ASC model.

The conversation covers the economics of ASC growth, rising development costs, specialty expansion, cash flow, technology gaps, and the challenge of getting physician owners fully committed to the center.

For C-suite, finance, operations, and RCM leaders looking to better understand where the ASC market is going, and what separates an average center from a high-performing one.

Terry Bohlke is a nationally recognized ambulatory surgery center executive with more than 20 years of multi-site, multi-state ASC leadership experience across 23 states. He has led ASC strategy, operations, development, acquisitions, finance, quality, and physician alignment for major healthcare organizations, including Community Health Systems, National Surgical Healthcare, and Nueterra.

Most recently, he served as Vice President of Ambulatory Surgery Centers for Community Health Systems, where he established and led the national ASC strategy for 51 ASC partnerships. His work has focused on building high-performing outpatient surgery platforms through quality-centered operations, strong physician partnerships, market growth, disciplined financial management, and clinical integration with health systems.

A former healthcare CFO and CPA, Terry brings a distinctive blend of strategic, operational, and financial expertise to the ASC sector. He has also served in national and state ASC industry leadership roles, including President and member of the Board of Directors for ASCA, the national ASC association, and CASA, the California ASC Association.

In addition to his healthcare leadership, he served as Commander and Executive Officer of the Navy’s Center for Naval Leadership Southwest, bringing a deep commitment to leadership development, team culture, and mission-focused execution. He has spoken and written extensively on ASC growth, financial performance, physician partnerships, and leadership, and joins Healthcare Intelligence to discuss the evolving role of ambulatory surgery centers in the future of healthcare delivery.

Topics covered: physician alignment without "billing clerk" resentment, site-of-care shift economics, ASC joint ventures and ownership incentives, the catches nobody talks about in ASC growth, and how AI will close the specialty-hospital knowledge gap.

Stacey Malakoff is a healthcare board director and advisor, working with healthcare companies, private equity-backed organizations, and emerging healthcare platforms on growth, governance, revenue cycle, ambulatory strategy, and value creation. She brings more than 35 years of leadership experience from Hospital for Special Surgery, including 26 years as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer and later as Chief Administrative Officer.

At HSS, Stacey helped lead the organization through significant financial growth, strategic expansion, physician alignment, payer strategy, ASC and site-of-care development, supply chain oversight, capital planning, debt financing, enterprise risk management, and sustained national leadership in orthopedics.

Stacey believes revenue cycle is not simply billing and collections. It is an end-to-end operating discipline that connects patient access, documentation, coding, payer strategy, payment, cash flow, and long-term financial sustainability.

In this episode of Healthcare Intelligence, Charlene sits down with David Eslinger, DDS, MBA, Founder of Practice Worth, to discuss what today's dental leaders need to know about scaling practices, creating operational value, and preparing for the next generation of AI.

They discuss:

• Why the old DSO consolidation playbook no longer works
• The operational changes PE-backed groups are making today
• AI's growing role in revenue cycle management and dental diagnostics
• Why technology adoption is becoming a competitive advantage
• Common mistakes dentists make when valuing their practices
• How Practice Worth helps owners better understand their business value

Whether you're a dentist, DSO executive, investor, or healthcare operator, this episode offers practical insights into where the industry is headed.

Check out Practice Worth: https://www.getpracticeworth.com/podcast

In this episode of Ember Healthcare Intelligence, we talk about:

• What credentialing actually means
• How provider enrollment impacts reimbursement
• Why payer setup errors create claim denials
• The reality behind healthcare fraud investigations
• Why many healthcare organizations still rely on spreadsheets
• What healthcare leaders should audit immediately

Nyleen shares real examples from hospitals, surgery centers, and provider groups that reveal how operational gaps can quietly create compliance and revenue problems.

A must-watch conversation for healthcare executives, RCM leaders, administrators, and operators.

#HealthcareAI #HealthcareLeadership #Credentialing #Denials #MedicalPractice #RevenueIntegrity #HealthcareCompliance

Healthcare in the United States: Helping People Understand the Financial Side of Healthcare by Anthony Grove

They cover why “heroic” fire drills don’t scale, how to build feedback loops that actually improve the front end of healthcare, and why the best RCM gains come from getting inputs right instead of living in denials and follow-ups.

If you’re trying to boost first-pass rates and net collections, this one is a practical mindset shift: quality at the start beats cleanup at the end.

Key insights: The future of patient access and scheduling The role of Epic and third-party innovation Why stakeholder alignment is key to adoption How “human in the loop” keeps healthcare personal

Cyril Phillip is the Vice President of Digital Ventures at Bon Secours Mercy Health. As part of the Accrete Health Partners, the digital transformation engine for BSMH, Cyril looks to identify novel healthcare technology companies that can contribute to the health system’s mission and partners with select companies through investment and co-development. Cyril has over a decade of experience in the not-for-profit hospital sector, and started his career in the Investment Banking and Private Equity realm.

• The #1 training tactic that improves coding accuracy
• How to handle gray areas
• Teaching teams to navigate CPT vs. Medicare rules efficiently
• Best practices for ICD-10 and CPT annual rollouts
• How to integrate autonomous coding tools safely

If you care about E/M reliability, audit strategy, and coder-clinician collaboration, this episode is for you.