The interview below is part of a McGuireWoods series featuring interviews with C-suite leadership of private equity-backed portfolio companies. To recommend a leader for a future interview, email Holly Buckley at hbuckley@mcguirewoods.com or Tim Fry at tfry@mcguirewoods.com.

Q: What was the best advice you received about running a business successfully?

Matt Devine: Peter Drucker has a famous quote credited to him that says, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” In today’s business climate, we place a premium on data and its importance in deriving optimal decision-making. At ADH, we have invested in IT infrastructure and employ a team of data scientists that enable us to provide our employees and supported physicians with real-time dashboards, driving efficiency and successful outcomes across our platform. Additionally, we use data analytics to provide clinical insights which have, and will continue to, positively impact patient care.

Q: What characteristics do you look for in leaders within your organization?

MD: We look for three primary traits in leaders for ADH: honesty, self-awareness and humility. With honesty, we seek to foster relationships of trust and respect when dealing with our supported physicians, patients and stakeholders. Self-awareness is a critical trait that impacts an individual’s ability to successfully lead a team by allowing them to reflect and identify areas to improve as a team and individually. Humility is the constant recognition that ADH can always be better and allows our leadership team to selflessly take ownership of the identified areas of improvement.

Q: What are you most proud of achieving this past year?

MD: I am proud that since Assured Healthcare Partners (AHP) invested in ADH three years ago, ADH has tripled the number of gastroenterologists we support to 160 while having a pristine balance sheet. Over the past year, we focused our attention on replicating our successful New Jersey model into New York, where we support over 50 physicians. We also are working with clinical leadership to integrate all our supported physicians onto one platform.

In partnership with AHP, ADH has invested in its management services organization infrastructure to support our providers, allowing them to focus on doing what they love: providing high-quality care to patients.

Q: Can you talk about the role of private equity in the physician services arena?

MD: In the United States, there has been a great deal of consolidation in the hospital and health insurance sectors. This consolidation has driven the provider community to look toward partnership for strength and stability. The increasing government demands, risk-based models and lower reimbursement trends have driven the need to respond, and private equity partners have provided a platform for physicians to come together.

In our case, financial backing also has allowed ADH to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) and technology essential to enhancing clinical care and competing in the future. These solutions are not readily available to smaller, independent physician groups.

Q: What healthcare trend will cause the most change over the next 10 years?

MD: The use of AI in the healthcare sector is driving change that will positively impact the cost and quality of care moving forward. ADH continues to make strides allowing our supported physicians to utilize AI clinically and administratively, while providing insights into the patient journey that lead to a more holistic view of their care. Changes in the provision of healthcare are rapidly occurring, and consolidation in the physician services sector is leading physician groups to share the best of their experiences and resources to ultimately benefit their patients.