Revenue Cycle Insights Podcast
Episode 6: Mentorship, AI & Healthcare Innovation
Video Transcript

ElevatePFS Senior Vice President of Business Development Scott Willey: I’m Scott Willey. This is another edition of ElevatePFS Revenue Cycle Insights. Today, we have Ryan Riddle with CHRISTUS Health, and we’re so pleased to have you. One of my favorite people in the business, one of the most fun people, and one of the best leaders in the industry. I’ve been begging you to get on here for a long time, so thank you for making time.

CHRISTUS Health Vice President of Patient Access Ryan Riddle: Absolutely, you’re welcome. You’re one of our favorites as well, Scott.

Scott Willey: Look, we’re just going to do this very casually. A couple of questions, and if something pops into your head and you want to go a different route, absolutely bring it up. Let’s start with your background. Tell us a little about where you came from and how you got here.

Ryan Riddle: So, I’m Ryan Riddle. I’m in patient access here at CHRISTUS Health. I’ve been with CHRISTUS for ten years this year. My background is that I’m originally from Spring, Texas. I went to Spring High School, then went to Trinity University for undergrad and stayed there for my MHA in healthcare administration.

From there, I had to complete a residency in healthcare administration, which took me to Shreveport, Louisiana. I was part of LSU Health Sciences Center at the time, which was a state facility. I was there for eight years, but at the end of the day, I’m a Texas girl, so I needed to come back. I ended up with CHRISTUS and have been there ever since.

The interesting thing for me, and probably the biggest blessing, is that I’ve always been in this role. This was honestly the second job I’ve ever had. After my residency, they asked if I wanted to be the director of patient access, and I said yes because I needed a job. I’ve been there ever since, and I’ve really watched the department grow from the ground up, starting back at LSU when there was no one in that role. We just figured it out as we went, and I’ve been here ever since.

Scott Willey: Right, so you’re one of the few people who took a more normal or traditional route into the business.

Ryan Riddle: I’d say it’s normal, but I stayed in school until I figured out what job I wanted. This was during the 2008 recession, so timing mattered. Trinity is a small school. We had 25 people in our graduating class, and only about four of us had jobs lined up. I was one of them, and I was fortunate they kept me on when a role opened up.

Scott Willey: So good things happen to good people. Let’s talk about your role today.

Ryan Riddle: I’m currently the Vice President of Patient Access. I started as a regional director, then moved into a VP role for Northeast Texas, and now I oversee patient access across the entire CHRISTUS system. I’ve officially been in this role for a little over a year and a half.

A big part of that transition has been our Epic conversion. We completed our largest go-live a couple of months ago, bringing all ministries onto Epic. With that comes a lot of standardization, figuring out what patient access should look like systemwide. Because I was already leading teams through that Epic journey, it naturally evolved into leading patient access at a system level.

We’re still in a phase of transition and organizational redesign, but the benefit for me was coming from a regional role. I already knew the players and the realities on the ground. I tell our teams all the time: we’re not going to struggle alone, we’re going to do this together. Standardization is hard, but they’ve done incredibly well because they feel heard and supported.

Scott Willey: From a vendor perspective, I’ll just say it’s been great having steady leadership through all of this. Thank you. It’s no small task, and I really appreciate our partners sticking with us through it. What do you love most about your job?

Ryan Riddle: Thank you. That means a lot.

Scott Willey: What do you love most about your job? Other than our vendor partners, of course

Ryan Riddle: But honestly, my favorite part is getting out into the ministries and being in the space with the teams. That’s where I’m at my best. Seeing what’s really happening in practice, versus what we think is happening from an office, makes all the difference.

I love being with the patient access reps, the ER teams, and the people in main admitting, just listening and watching them work. Unfortunately, I don’t get to do that as often as I’d like, but I’m hoping that changes once conversions settle down.

Scott Willey: When conversions slow down, do you think you’ll be out more?

Ryan Riddle: That’s the intention. I’m building out a strong leadership team underneath me so that even if it’s not me, someone is out there. Being present with the teams is a priority.

Scott Willey: Brag a little about your employer.

Ryan Riddle: Honestly, I wouldn’t be anywhere else. What I love about CHRISTUS Health is that it is different here. I felt it when I had my first interview in San Antonio. We truly put the patient first, and we mean that, not only from the rev cycle but from clinical even to the person watching the elevators. When you walk through the halls, whether at the hospital or the Irving office, patients come first, and that’s real.

Scott Willey: They take both patient and employee experience seriously, and that focus trickles down to our teams. People are proud to represent your organization. New fiscal year, what are a couple of goals?

Ryan Riddle: We were hoping to be fully done with conversions, but we do have another facility coming on board, Alamogordo, New Mexico, which is currently on Cerner. That will be a new learning curve as we move them onto Epic.

Beyond that, engagement is a big focus, within patient access, across revenue cycle, and even into clinical operations. We’ve been in implementation mode for the last three to four years, and we haven’t had the opportunity to truly optimize.

We still do a lot of things manually. What I’m excited about now is figuring out where technology can drive efficiencies and where we can repurpose people into more complex, value-driven work. Optimization is a major priority this fiscal year.

Scott Willey: Is there anything keeping you up at night?

Ryan Riddle: A lot of things but mostly managing all the ministries and uncovering unknown processes we aren’t aware of yet. You flip over a rock and find something new. I’m also focused on supporting my leadership team and making sure they feel supported. And of course, there’s the Big Beautiful Bill, we’ll see how that unfolds and pivot as needed.

Scott Willey: How do you set your team up for success?

Ryan Riddle: I think it’s really important for anyone listening to know that people bring different strengths to the table. For example, I have one person on my team who is an incredible wordsmith. They can make anything sound polished, thoughtful, and clear, while still getting straight to the point. That’s a strength they naturally have, and it’s important to recognize that.

As a leader, it’s about understanding those strengths and knowing where to put people so they can succeed. Once someone has confidence in what they’re doing and feels comfortable in their role, then you can start to explore how those strengths might apply elsewhere or help the broader team.

When I’m hiring for a leadership role, I always tell myself, and others, you need to find someone who isn’t just like you, but someone who complements you. Building a strong team means knowing when to pivot, knowing when you truly need outside thoughts, and recognizing when an outside perspective will help move things forward, especially when processes have been done the same way for a very long time.

In my current role, I’m very upfront about this: I can’t train someone on patient access from the ground up. I can help train someone to be a healthy, effective leader, but I can’t train them on how to register patients or manage the foundational work. They need to come in with that background.

That’s why confidence in their skills is so important. Again, when hiring for leadership, you’re not looking for someone exactly like you, you’re looking for someone who complements your strengths and fills the gaps. That balance is how you build a strong, effective leadership team.

Scott Willey: Who are your role models?

Ryan Riddle: Of course, my parents, my mom and dad, were my first role models in life. They’re the ones who got me here, and they’ve been the most supportive parents anyone could ask for.

Professionally, one of my biggest role models was the CEO of LSU Health Sciences Center. She was the one who took a chance on me. What I really admired about her leadership style was how she knew how to bring the right people to the table, no matter what the issue was.

If it was a registration issue, she didn’t just talk at a high level, she brought in the registrar, the clinic nurse, the VP over that clinic, and anyone else who had a role in the process. She wanted everyone’s perspective to be heard. But just as important, she knew how to manage the conversation once everyone was at the table. I really valued that approach, because it helped us collectively figure out the solution we were all trying to reach.

Every Friday afternoon, I’d go to her office and say, “Okay, here’s what’s going on this week, how do we work through it?” She was always a very strong mentor for me. I don’t talk with her as much now that I’m in Dallas, but when I was in Tyler and San Antonio, I stayed very closely connected with her.

I still try to stay in touch with many of my colleagues from LSU. I tell them all the time, they’re my family. They’re the people who raised me in this business. I keep them updated on what’s going on here, and they’re very proud, which means a lot.

Scott Willey: Someone gave you a chance early on, and in your career, you’ve given many people chances. That has to feel good.

Ryan Riddle: Yes, absolutely. One story that stands out is someone who’s no longer with the company. He walked in with his resume, nicely dressed, and asked if he could just get an interview. We talked, and honestly, he was very overqualified for what we had available. All I could offer at the time was a PRN position.

He took it. He started as a registrar, then moved into a lead role in our centralized scheduling unit. After three or four months, a supervisor position opened up, he applied, and he moved up again. That tenacity, to stay in, work hard, and prove himself, makes that one of my favorite stories.

I’ve seen similar situations myself. Years ago, we hired a field rep in San Antonio who had the gift of gab and was just really good at what we did. Eventually, people kept saying, “Let me talk to Isaac,” and I realized this field rep had quietly worked himself into a leadership role without anyone formally assigning it. He went on to have a great career in this business and later moved into insurance. I love stories like that, someone gets a chance, and they truly make the most of it.

Scott Willey: So, we talked about the Big Beautiful Bill. The last thing I had on my list was to get your thoughts, any initiatives you have going or things you’re focusing on right now?

Ryan Riddle: That’s an interesting topic, and I have mixed feelings about it. I think it’s needed if it’s done correctly. We’ve entered a space where AI has become the buzzword, and suddenly everything has to be “AI,” but I don’t think we’ve always stopped to ask what that really means or what we’re truly trying to accomplish.

I take a more thoughtful approach when it comes to using AI. You really have to start with the end goal, what are we actually trying to achieve? For example, we’re looking at transcribing orders, which is one of the worst manual processes we deal with, especially since we get so many orders from outside providers. At the end of the day, my goal is simple: I need that order into Epic as quickly as possible.

What I see happening with AI is that people break the process into pieces. The order hits a repository, then it gets indexed, dated, and moved through steps one by one. But if the order still isn’t in the system, that doesn’t help me. The goal is getting it into Epic, so we need to focus on how we get there, not just celebrate each small step along the way.

I think that’s where we sometimes miss the mark with AI. We lose sight of the actual outcome and get distracted by all the things the technology can do instead of what we actually need it to do and how it’s going to be impactful.

I’ve also seen situations where organizations implement an AI tool that only goes so far. I understand that, but from the end-user perspective, it has to make sense operationally. There has to be balance, technology and operations need to work together. If a tool doesn’t truly help my team, then it’s not really a win.

Scott Willey: Well, Ryan, thank you so much. I knew this would be fun. Do you have any questions for me or anything else you’d like to talk about?

Ryan Riddle: What are your goals for this year?

Scott Willey: We’re rounding out some major projects, especially the work we’ve done together. You’re a major client for us, and the conversions have been a big effort. They’ve gone pretty well overall. There have been hiccups, of course, but considering the scope, it’s been a big win so far.

We’re always looking for new leaders as well, either developing people internally or bringing in fresh energy. We promote from within, we give people opportunities, but we also look outside for new perspectives. I’ve been in this business a long time, and now I find myself working with people I’ve known throughout my career, sometimes more than once. And honestly, I still enjoy it, which is why I keep doing it.

What I really enjoy most is the people, the people I get to work with and the vendor partners. I have only a few clients, and you’re a major one. I’ve said this before, yes, corporate CHRISTUS is our client, but so is every hospital, every ministry. We’re really in the middle of all of that, working to keep corporate leadership aligned while also supporting CFOs, managers, and directors at the hospital level.

It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. We work with many major health systems, and the key is understanding that everyone involved is a client, not just the corporate office, but the hospitals themselves.

Ryan Riddle: One thing I really value about our relationship is the communication. There’s no sense of “this is wrong” or “everything is falling apart.” We talk things through and say, “Okay, how do we solve this?” From an operations standpoint, we don’t have to manage you, and that’s a good thing.

Scott Willey: The communication between our teams, both corporate and hospital-level, is outstanding. We have good tools and processes, but the relationship works because of the people. Melissa really started that culture, and Lisa has carried it forward. That level of communication is something we’ve tried to replicate with other systems, because success speaks for itself.

Thank you again. Thank you so much.