Verghese Mathew, MD, had a bit of a homecoming in August 2016, when he was named director of clinical operations at Loyola Medicine. Mathew is a Chicago native and received his medical degree from Loyola before spending nearly two decades at Mayo Clinic as a clinician-researcher-educator.

Earlier in May, Mathew was named the director of Loyola’s division of cardiology. Now, with a few weeks before he takes the helm—his new role will officially begin July 1—Mathew spoke to Cardiovascular Business about a few challenges and how his background has prepared him to overcome.

Cardiovascular Business: A few weeks before you assume your new position, what personal expectations and goals do you have as the leader of the cardiology division?

Verghese Mathew, MD: I am honored and grateful for the opportunity to be impactful at Loyola, a great institution with a rich heritage and reputation of shaping the field of cardiovascular diseases.  I look forward to guiding our division to continue to deliver outstanding cardiovascular care; contribute to the future of cardiac care with relevant basic, translational and clinical research; and training next generations of outstanding cardiovascular specialists.

Coming from the clinical side of things, what challenges do you see in assuming control of educational and academic operations?

I’ve had the great privilege of being recognized as a clinician-researcher-educator for many years at the Mayo Clinic prior to my arrival at Loyola. Contributing to this integrated, tri-partite academic medical center mission remains a priority for Loyola Cardiology.

Healthcare as whole and cardiology departments specifically have embraced integrated models of care. What obstacles remain in developing such models? What opportunities accompany developing such systems?

Much of my career as a clinical leader has been devoted to creating and maintaining integrated models of care across multiple specialties, generating synergy within care teams, and thus creating value for consumers of healthcare. Embracing a patient-centered approach using evidence-based diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in a timely, cost-effective and efficient manner are keys to successful healthcare delivery.

Considering the instability surrounding policy and regulation around healthcare, how will you approach changes associated with new payment models?

Payment models will continue to evolve to inspire us to provide the highest quality care at affordable cost; we use this value proposition to continually guide our care models as we look to the future.