The Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is proud to announce that Brent Savoie, MD, JD, will be stepping into a new role as Chief Performance Executive at Navvis Healthcare, effective April 2023.
Navvis—which defines itself as a “healthcare transformation company”—works with health plans, health systems and physician enterprises to “build, operate, and manage new business models that accelerate and fundamentally change the way healthcare is delivered.” Specifically, the company focuses on risk-based payment models through the implementation of value-based care strategies. In this effort, Dr. Savoie looks forward to increasing the quality and logistics of care to a wide range of patients in need.
“I'm very excited to once again bring my experience in global population health to a domestic context,” Dr. Savoie says. “Navvis' partners are incredibly diverse, operating in urban, rural, and suburban contexts across the continental United States, as well as in Puerto Rico and Hawaii. Developing programs that can improve healthcare and can adapt appropriately to differing socioeconomic, cultural, and linguistic contexts is something I am very excited about.”
He continues: “Our healthcare system has been designed for the fee-for-service world. Health systems and physician enterprises have sophisticated mechanisms for billing and productivity monitoring, but frequently lack the care coordination infrastructure, population-level analytics, and physician-level needed to succeed in this new environment.”
Dr. Savoie will be transitioning out of his leadership roles at VUMC Radiology, including as Vice Chair of Informatics and Section Chief of Cardiothoracic Imaging. Jennifer Williams, MD, will be the new Section Chief of Cardiothoracic Imaging, effective February 1. Fortunately, Dr. Savoie will remain on faculty at VUMC as a diagnostic radiologist in a clinical capacity.
“I’m grateful for the profound dedication and service that Dr. Savoie has shown towards our patients, department, and Medical Center,” says Reed Omary, MD, MS, Carol D. and Henry P. Pendergrass Professor and Chair of Radiology and Radiological Sciences. “He’s a remarkable servant-leader who has spent his life helping others around the world. All of us send Dr. Savoie our best wishes for success as he uses his leadership skills to benefit the health of large populations.”
“I am very grateful to have the support of the department to pursue this new opportunity while maintaining my connection with my colleagues and an institution that I care deeply about,” Dr. Savoie says. “Not all departments have such a progressive perspective on leadership development, and I feel extremely fortunate to be at Vanderbilt.”
In his new position, Dr. Savoie is excited about the role imaging and informatics will play in population health. Since he joined Vanderbilt more than six years ago, Dr. Savoie has seen great progress in the ability to leverage radiology to reach goals in this healthcare approach, from lung cancer screening to AI-enabled analysis of radiological images.
He believes there are numerous untapped possibilities to achieve large-scale improvements in patient outcomes by better integrating radiology into population health initiatives.
Prior to joining VUMC, Dr. Savoie worked as a Managing Director for Clinical Transformation at a population health company, where he helped health care systems develop and implement multi-layered coordinated initiatives to improve outcomes. This work only built on Dr. Savoie’s foundation of global health experience. Twenty years ago, Savoie founded Primeros Pasos, a clinic that combined clinical and preventative care to improve the health of communities in rural Guatemala.
In his role as Navvis’ Chief Performance Executive, Dr. Savoie will have key responsibilities related to the design, development and management support of the company’s capabilities. He will oversee and manage the intersection of programs, interventions, innovation and technology. Dr. Savoie will also work with Navvis leaders to support growth efforts, NPO activities, digital patient engagement, solution development, community organizations engagement, network development, physician engagement, analytics discernment and executive clinical oversight across the company.
