Growth, mission + fragmentation: How academic health systems are confronting the next decade


Academic health systems are entering a defining decade. Many are expanding rapidly through mergers, affiliations and new service lines. But with scale comes risk: fragmentation, mission drift and uneven progress on access and equity.

This whitepaper features insights from 11 academic health systems — including Emory Healthcare, Rush University System for Health, Jefferson Health and University of Missouri Health Care — shared during Becker's fall 2025 AMC Leadership Forum.

Across sessions, a consistent theme emerged: Thriving in the next 10 years means aligning strategy and scale to the academic mission — not compromising it.

Read the report to see how top academic health systems are navigating:
 
  • Fragmentation risks, including how Rush unified its structure to drive innovation and patient experience
  • Growth thresholds and the $5 billion sustainability benchmark shared by Emory's CEO
  • Why University of Missouri and Tampa General Hospital prioritize equity in their access strategies
 

Please fill out the form to download the whitepaper.