Using AI to Improve Care, Experience and Efficiency
As Chief Financial Officer of WVU Medicine, Nick Barcellona works at the intersection of strategy, operations and innovation for a fast-growing health system. Over the past few years, WVU Medicine has expanded across four states, launched its own health plan and accelerated its use of data, technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to better serve patients. We sat down with Barcellona at the recent Becker’s CEO + CFO Roundtable to get his take on healthcare’s embrace of AI and his health system’s revenue cycle transformation.
WVU Medicine is a large academic health system based in Morgantown, West Virginia, with hospitals and clinics serving small and rural communities across West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Its mission is to improve the health trajectory of all those it serves. Being both a healthcare provider and a payer through its own health plan is central to that goal, enabling a stronger focus on population health and long-term outcomes.
Building hubs to keep care close to home
The system’s growth strategy centers on a hub-and-spoke model anchored by its nearly 900-bed academic medical center in Morgantown. Around that hub, WVU Medicine is investing in critical access and rural hospitals and regional medical centers to expand access and reduce the need for patients to travel long distances for care.
“In recent years, WVU Medicine has strengthened its presence with new facilities across West Virginia,” said Barcellona. “The aim is to deliver more advanced services in local communities, so patients don’t have to drive four to six hours to Morgantown for every need.”
On the financing side, the launch of Peak Health, WVU Medicine’s health plan, has been a key step in aligning incentives around prevention and care management. Peak Health went live in 2023 and entered the Medicare Advantage market in 2024, with rapid growth since. Barcellona sees Peak Health as strengthening WVU Medicine’s position as an integrated delivery network and reinforcing its commitment to population health.
A “settler” approach to AI and innovation
Barcellona describes WVU Medicine’s posture toward AI as intentionally measured. Rather than chasing every innovation, the organization aims to adopt technologies once they are better understood and can be deployed safely and at scale.
“Being West Virginians, we think of it like pioneers and settlers,” said Barcellona. “So, do you want to be a pioneer sort of on the Oregon Trail, or do you want to be a settler and maybe follow those pioneers, then come in when the technology is a little bit more established? And I think in many instances we want to be the settler.”
The settler philosophy for prioritizing projects is supported by formal data and AI governance structures. Interdisciplinary committees bring together clinical, financial and technology leaders to evaluate ideas, consider risks and ensure that projects align with strategic goals. With so many tools and vendors in the market, Barcellona emphasizes the importance of disciplined prioritization and clear metrics to decide which initiatives to pursue.
At WVU Medicine, the mindset is that the organization can do anything, but not everything. The governance framework helps channel energy toward projects that move the needle for patients, clinicians and the health system.
AI supports providers, not burdens them
A major focus for Barcellona is using AI to reduce the burden on physicians and nurses. Historically, new technologies often added steps or documentation requirements to clinicians’ workflows. WVU Medicine is working to reverse that pattern and deploy tools that give time back.
One of the most promising areas has been AI-enabled ambient listening for clinical documentation. Instead of typing notes during or after a visit, physicians can speak naturally with patients while the technology captures and drafts the encounter documentation. Early results have been strong with improved efficiency, positive return on investment and enthusiastic feedback from clinicians.
“I think what’s most exciting to me is when you look at some of the technology that we’re using now,” Barcelon said. “So, for example, ambient listening for clinical documentation. We’re using that now and that’s going exceptionally well. The ROI looks good and the physicians are excited about it.”
Barcelona highlights the impact on both provider well‑being and patient experience. When technology reduces the time spent on the keyboard, clinicians can maintain eye contact, listen more fully and restore the kind of personal connection patients want. That, he believes, is one of the most meaningful benefits of AI – enabling more human interactions, not fewer.
A technology first, human-led revenue cycle
On the revenue cycle side, Barcellona sees the industry undergoing a significant shift. Revenue cycle operations have traditionally been very labor-intensive, with technology playing a supporting role. Today, advances in automation and AI are flipping that equation, enabling a technology first model that is supported by skilled people.
This transformation naturally creates anxiety among staff who worry about job security. Barcellona believes in being honest about how certain tasks may change or go away. As automation takes on more transactional work, new opportunities are emerging for higher skilled positions, such as documentation or coding liaisons who oversee, tune and optimize the underlying systems.
“What I’ve found in almost every instance is at first people can be resistant,” admits Barcelona. “But then when they figure it out and see that it’s going to help them and make their daily lives better, they start to get excited about it. So, I’m very excited about this transformation wave that’s coming on the revenue cycle side.”
Barcelona stresses the importance of training, support and communication so that team members understand how these tools can make their day-to-day work better and more valuable. Barcelona also underscores that the most valuable ideas for using AI seldom come from the C-suite. Instead, they originate with frontline staff – the people processing claims, working denials, scheduling patients or providing direct care. Their insights are essential to shaping solutions that work in actual practice.
Better Experiences for Patients
Ultimately, WVU Medicine’s AI and innovation agenda is grounded in improving the patient experience. AI can help patients find and access care more easily by analyzing schedules, identifying open appointments and directing patients to nearby locations with the right services. It can streamline registration and intake, reduce delays and create more coordinated experiences across both care delivery and coverage.
Barcelona sees many of these benefits already emerging, with more on the horizon. For WVU Medicine, AI and advanced technologies are not endpoints, they are vehicles. Used thoughtfully, they can support clinicians, empower staff and create better, more connected experiences for the communities the health system serves – while keeping high quality care closer to home.
