Do The Right Thing – Assaad Sayah

This episode is in partnership with MIT Sloan Healthcare and BioInnovations Conference, an event that brings the healthcare ecosystem together. We sat with Dr. Assaad Sayah CEO of Cambridge Health Alliance and discussed his personal story, his leadership beliefs, and the “Value-Based Care”, topic of his panel at the conference. Value = Quality / Cost, this is the way to think about value-based care; it has to be of great quality with the best patient experience at a contained cost. Health equity in this context is key. We need first of all to be in the underserved communities and be thoughtful, and purposeful about addressing their needs to narrow equities gaps. For Assaad, leadership is about providing the space for people to do the work, it is about trust, clarity, transparency, and accountability. The ultimate success of a "care delivery system" is for it to disappear because we worked on education, prevention, and screening for the community to remain healthy.

"Provide the space for people to do the work"

MEET OUR GUEST Assaad Sayah Chief Executive Officer Cambridge Health Alliance.

Dr. Assaad Sayah, President and CEO of Cambridge Health Alliance. Assaad was named CHA's President and CEO in January 2020 after serving as the interim CEO since June 2019 and Chief Medical Officer since 2013.

Before that, Assaad served as the chief of emergency medicine and Senior Vice President of Primary Care. In the Emergency Department, he led tremendous advancements at all three CHA hospitals, resulting in enhanced efficiency, quality, volume, and patient satisfaction. He spearheaded primary care growth by more than 50 percent, expanding CHA's access in underserved communities and integrating primary care and behavioral health services and systems to address social determinants of health. Assaad also plays a key role in CHA's commitment to the communities it serves, including his tenure as the co-chair of the Cambridge City Manager's Opioid Working Group established in 2018 to develop recommendations for strengthening the city's response to the opioid epidemic.

Additionally, Assaad is Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. His research and publications focus on operational efficiency, improving the clinical environment, and patient experience of care.