(Story updated at 12:30 p.m. ET.)
The Medical Group Management Association has named Dr. Halee Fischer-Wright president and CEO effective March 23.
Fischer-Wright, 46, is chief medical officer at Centura Health System's St. Anthony North Health Campus in Westminster, Colo. She previously served as president of Rose Medical Group, a Denver-based 680-physician management services/physician-hospital organization. She is co-author of the New York Times best-seller Tribal Leadership.
“I am thrilled to be named MGMA president and chief executive officer and to have the opportunity to work alongside such passionate members and talented staff,” Fischer-Wright said in a news release.
MGMA attorney Jerard Jensen had been serving as interim CEO since Dr. Susan Turney left the organization last August to become the first CEO and executive VP of the newly formed Marshfield (Wis.) Clinic Health System.
“Dr. Fischer-Wright's unique expertise and experience from working in both clinical and administrative roles will be critical in helping MGMA members prepare for value-based payments and leverage the full clinical and operational power of their practices to enhance patient care in their practices and position them for this success,” MGMA Board Chairwoman Debra Wiggs said in the release.
Fischer-Wright's book, Tribal Leadership, was the result of a 10-year study involving 24,000 people. It identified different “tribes” that can exist within an organization. Fischer-Wright wrote how, by identifying the tribes' core values and goals, leaders can foster success by setting a strategy based on those values.
MGMA CEOs are mainstays of the Modern Healthcare 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders list. Turney made it three times. Her predecessor, Dr. William Jessee, was named to the list six times.
Fischer-Wright earned her medical degree at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She trained as a pediatrics resident at Phoenix Children's Hospital's Maricopa Medical Center program.
The membership of the Englelwood, Colo.-based MGMA includes approximately 33,000 medical group executives who manage 18,000 healthcare organizations where 385,000 physicians practice.
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