Jeffrey Cohen, MD, FACS, FASCRS, CPE, Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Operating Officer at Hartford HealthCare

Dr. Jeffrey Cohen, Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Operating Officer at Hartford HealthCare, joins Laura Deirdre on the Becker's Healthcare Podcast to discuss the organization's transformation into a patient-centric, technology-driven healthcare system. He traces Hartford HealthCare’s evolution from a fragmented network to Connecticut’s largest healthcare enterprise—now spanning nine hospitals, 500+ sites of service, and nearly 50,000 colleagues—with a 12% CAGR over the past several years. Central to this growth is the strategic shift toward clinical integration through an institute model inspired by the Cleveland Clinic, enabling standardized, high-quality care across diverse geographic regions. The cornerstone of their current innovation is HHC 24-7, an AI-powered app offering on-demand virtual care 24/7, which has already facilitated 42,000 patient interactions in just 11 months. This platform, integrated with Epic and linked to clinicians, allows patients to receive timely care from home—reducing ER visits and improving access, especially in rural and underserved areas. Looking ahead, Hartford HealthCare is advancing its HHC 2035 vision to become the most consumer-centric healthcare system in the U.S., leveraging AI, home monitoring via partnerships like Cadence, and proprietary patient-facing tools. The organization is also addressing workforce challenges through the People Promise initiative, which includes expanding pipelines via nursing schools, high school programs like REACH, and partnerships with universities to train future healthcare professionals. Dr. Cohen emphasizes that true innovation lies not just in technology, but in shifting the entire healthcare mindset from provider-centric to patient-centric, where care is delivered where, when, and how patients want it—mirroring the convenience of modern consumer experiences like Amazon and Uber.