Becker’s Healthcare Podcast: “Lisa Tank, President and Chief Hospital Executive, Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack Meridian Health”
Episode Date: January 5, 2026
Host: Will Riley, R1
Guest: Dr. Lisa Tank

Episode Overview

This episode features an insightful conversation with Dr. Lisa Tank, President and Chief Hospital Executive at Hackensack University Medical Center, part of Hackensack Meridian Health in northern New Jersey. The discussion centers on the evolving role of technology—particularly artificial intelligence (AI)—in large health systems, building a patient-centric culture, strategies for fostering innovation, and staying competitive in a dynamic healthcare market. Dr. Tank also addresses the institution’s approach to governance, workforce integration, and trends reshaping the delivery of care.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Dr. Tank’s Role & the Hackensack Community

• Dr. Tank’s Background
  • Board-certified internist and geriatrician
  • Over 25 years at Hackensack; began as a fellow and rose through leadership
  • Describes the hospital as an academic flagship and a “robust tertiary quaternary center” in a highly competitive region
    • “Hackensack has been my home for about 25 years… It is the academic flagship for Hackensack Meridian Health.” [01:02]
• Community Demographics
  • Northern NJ: Densely populated, ethnically diverse, proximity to major airports
  • Notable as a retirement destination; large, aging population living independently or in assisted living
    • “It’s one of the most popular counties to retire in… a large aging population with a high mix of patients living at home independently versus assisted living…” [02:04]

Technology & AI Adoption in Healthcare

• Healthcare’s Cautious Approach Historically

  • Healthcare often lags in adopting new technologies, but AI is prompting a significant shift
    • “Healthcare has always been a bit cautious and sometimes…lagging in terms of technology, but AI has revolutionized that.” [03:24]

• AI and the Quadruple Aim

  • Dr. Tank highlights the quadruple aim: patient experience, population health, cost efficiency, and workforce well-being
  • AI enables:
    • Streamlining administrative tasks
    • Optimizing clinical models
    • Enhancing patient outcomes
    • “AI is a critical part of that… what it tends to do is streamline administrative tasks and optimize clinical models. So if you combine those two together, you have a great focus on patient outcomes.” [04:20]

• Establishing AI Governance

  • Early AI adoption at Hackensack included developing a comprehensive governance model
  • Involvement: ethics, clinicians, legal, compliance
  • Ensures evidence-based care and prevents “drift or variation”
    • “We created a governance model… a multi-professional model… so you are always on point. And… someone’s watching that you’re not slipping.” [05:03 & 05:51]

• Implementing Change & Supporting Staff

  • Emphasis on institutional culture and managing change
  • Importance of reducing staff anxiety: AI is here to support, not replace
    • “We wanted to take away the anxiety from all our team members that this is not here to replace you… it’s going to support you.” [06:57]

Incumbents vs. Insurgents: Approaches to Innovation

• Building AI In-House vs. Working with Vendors
  • Hackensack chose to build AI into its own infrastructure (within Epic EHR), focusing on real-time, clinician-facing tools
  • Internal teams include clinicians trained in AI, fostering adoption and operational/clinical collaboration
    • “We brought AI within our own infrastructure… built that AI platform within [Epic EHR]… thinking through clinical workflow.” [08:03]
    • “They were clinicians and now developed a training or specialization in AI. That really brought those two areas together and created a very high performing workforce.” [09:50]

Clinical, Administrative, and Financial Impacts

• Clinical Use Cases: Predictive Analytics

  • AI enables clinicians to proactively identify at-risk patients (e.g., for diabetes) and target interventions, improving resource allocation and cost-effectiveness
    • “If you already have the data… you can understand predictive analytics… and once you know earlier on, you can develop the resource allocation toward that population.” [10:36]

• Administrative Optimization: ED Throughput

  • AI assists with predicting ED volume and optimizing staffing
  • Hackensack’s ED: “fifth busiest in the country” — AI plays a key role in throughput and patient safety
    • “AI has helped us administratively… predictive analytics… to triage and build staffing models… a streamlined process.” [11:31]

• Workforce & Finance: Shifting Paradigms

  • Technology’s growing place in formerly labor-driven operations (ex: radiology)
  • AI has improved efficiency, reduced need for additional recruitment, and helped retain staff by improving work-life balance
    • “It’s tough to recruit radiologists… with AI… process large amounts of data… manage without a large recruitment process… retain people because the work-life balance has been better.” [13:21]

• Continuous Validation & Quality Improvement

  • Ongoing emphasis on patient centricity and rigorous quality/performance evaluation
    • “You have to make sure it is patient centric, it has validation built in, [and] QI… embedded, constantly querying and doing quality evaluations and performance.” [14:32]

Keeping Patients at the Center

• Patient Experience as the ‘North Star’
  • Emphasis on communication, empowerment, and partnership with patients
  • Technology enables transparency, better information access, and movement of care outside hospital walls
    • “Everybody remembers how they were treated… empowering the patient to have insight and access to their information and a partnership with providers because we’re in for the long run.” [15:18]

Looking Ahead: The Future of Healthcare Delivery

• Access and Decentralization
  • Focus on bringing care to the patient—telehealth and virtual care
  • Acknowledgement that not all systems can provide top-level care everywhere; importance of financial sustainability and adaptability
    • “It’s all going to be about access, taking care to the patient… leveraging different technologies and access points like telehealth, tele-ICU…” [16:34]
    • “How are you going to have financial sustainability and continue to evolve and transform.” [16:54]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Hackensack has been my home for about 25 years… It’s become a large academic institution within the northern New Jersey market.” – Dr. Lisa Tank [01:02]
• “AI is a critical piece and healthcare has understood now that anything to do with safety, quality, seamless cost efficiency… AI is embedded within those and it layers in your foundation.” – Dr. Lisa Tank [03:46]
• “[For AI projects,] there’s ethics involved, clinicians involved, legal is involved, compliance… you deliver the highest evidence-based care with AI modules and governance structure.” – Dr. Lisa Tank [05:36]
• “This is not here to replace you. This is absolutely something that’s going to be able to support you.” – Dr. Lisa Tank on staff and AI [06:57]
• “They were clinicians and now developed a training or specialization in AI. That really brought those two areas together and created a very high-performing workforce.” – Dr. Lisa Tank [09:50]
• “Healthcare is moving from four walls of a hospital into an outpatient setting and a home setting… it’s a partnership through the entire continuum.” – Dr. Lisa Tank [15:49]
• “It’s all going to be about access… and really leveraging all the different technologies and access points like telehealth, tele-ICU…” – Dr. Lisa Tank [16:34]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:02] Dr. Tank’s role and background; overview of Hackensack University Medical Center
• [02:04] Community demographics and the significance for healthcare delivery
• [03:24] Healthcare’s approach to technology and the transformative impact of AI
• [05:36] AI governance models: multi-disciplinary approach
• [06:57] Addressing staff concerns and change management around AI
• [08:03] Building AI in-house vs. working with vendors
• [09:50] Clinicians and AI specialization—bridging clinical and operational worlds
• [10:36] Predictive analytics and population health management
• [11:31] Administrative impact: AI in ED throughput and staffing
• [13:21] AI in radiology and shifting from labor-centric to technology-first paradigms
• [14:32] Emphasis on continuous quality improvement and patient centricity
• [15:18] Refocusing on patient experience and long-term partnership
• [16:34] Looking to the future: access, technology, and financial sustainability

Summary

Dr. Lisa Tank’s conversation is rich with practical examples and philosophy, demonstrating how Hackensack University Medical Center is using AI and advanced analytics to improve patient outcomes, streamline workflows, and maintain a leading edge in a competitive market. She underscores the importance of robust governance, staff support, and always keeping the patient at the center—“our North Star.” Her vision looks ahead to a future of healthcare that is increasingly accessible, decentralized, and technologically enabled—balancing innovation, quality, and sustainability.

This detailed summary provides actionable insights and key moments for listeners and non-listeners alike, preserving the original thought leadership and candor of the episode.