Becker’s Healthcare Podcast Accelerating Quality and Access at Hackensack Meridian Health with Dr. Jose Azar
Mar 10, 2026
Jose Azar, MD, a quality and clinical leader at Hackensack Meridian Health and hematology/oncology professor, discusses launching the Agile Institute to speed evidence-based care. He explores culture change and physician-led collaboratives. Topics include rapid rollouts like geriatric surgery verification, pathways to CMS five-star performance, and AI-driven strategies to improve equitable access.
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Agile Institute Shrinks Implementation From Years To Weeks
- The Agile Institute compresses the typical 17-year adoption timeline by teaching an implementation methodology and startup mindset.
- It trains staff, equips bedside teams with tools to implement evidence quickly, and runs innovation units to test and scale wins fast.
Embed Innovation In Everyone's Role
- Make innovation part of everyone's job and pair top-down commitment with frontline input.
- Engage leadership to back rapid testing while creating psychological safety so bedside teams can propose and pause changes.
Focus Few High-Impact Priorities And Unleash Bedside Teams
- Focus on a few high-impact opportunities and empower bedside teams to solve them to raise systemwide performance.
- That combination helped Hackensack University Medical Center reach five-star status while all hospitals moved to three or four stars and above.