Maria Ansari, MD, FACC, named to Modern Healthcare's list of 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives

Co-CEO of The Permanente Federation and leader of multiple Permanente Medical Groups at Kaiser Permanente, recognized for advancing AI technology, improving care access, and advocating for value-based care measures

OAKLAND, Calif., June 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Maria Ansari, MD, FACC, co-CEO of The Permanente Federation at Kaiser Permanente, has been named to Modern Healthcare's list of 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives for 2025. Dr. Ansari was recognized for her strategic leadership of the Permanente Medical Groups, supporting extensive deployment of AI listening technology, improving access to care, reducing health disparities, and advocating on Capitol Hill for value-based care.

Modern Healthcare honors physicians and clinicians in executive roles for their exceptional achievements in driving innovation, improving outcomes, serving their communities, and demonstrating exemplary leadership both within and beyond their organizations. 

"This recognition honors the dedication of our Permanente physicians, clinicians, nurses, and staff who bring Permanente Medicine to life every day — delivering care that is compassionate, patient-centered, and seamlessly coordinated," said Dr. Ansari. "Physician leadership is key to earning our patients' trust and ensuring clinical autonomy, allowing us to make decisions in the best interests of those we serve. The result is high-quality, high-value care within an integrated system — improving lives and shaping the future of health care."

Alongside Federation co-CEO Ramin Davidoff, MD, Dr. Ansari leads the Permanente Medical Groups, where more than 25,000 physicians deliver value-based care to 12.6 million Kaiser Permanente members in 8 states and the District of Columbia.

Dr. Ansari is also CEO and executive director of The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG), president and CEO of the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, and CEO of Northwest Permanente, three of the largest and most accomplished medical groups in the country. Kaiser Permanente is comprised of the Permanente Medical Groups and Kaiser Foundation Health Plans and Hospitals.

Examples of Dr. Ansari's leadership in physician wellness, patient outcomes, care experience, and more include: 

• Overseeing deployment of ambient AI listening technology to 25,000 Permanente physicians — an innovation that improves the patient experience and reduces clerical work and physician burnout.
   
• Improving access in adult and family medicine at TPMG by reducing appointment booking times by more than 33%.
   
• Reducing disparities in hypertension control between white and Black patients by 33% and in diabetes control between white and Latino patients by 25% at TPMG.
   
• Advocating for value-based care on Capitol Hill, including measures to support the physician pipeline, improve health care quality, health IT, and coordinated care.
   
• Advancing the highest quality specialty care. All 3 Northern California Kaiser Permanente cardiac surgery hubs — Sacramento, San Francisco, and Santa Clara — earned the Society of Thoracic Surgeons' highest quality rating for positive patient outcomes resulting from isolated coronary artery bypass graft procedures.
   
• Improving physician wellness. 6 Permanente Medical Groups have been recognized in the past 2 years by the American Medical Association's Joy in Medicine Award for their ongoing commitment to improve physician well-being and reducing burnout

In addition to these achievements, Dr. Ansari oversees the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research (DOR), whose investigators, along with clinician-researchers, form one of the largest research facilities in the nation. Their work supports medical advancements by publishing close to 1,000 research papers annually. The DOR also launched the Augmented Intelligence in Medicine and Healthcare Initiative Coordinating Center to fund research projects that deploy AI and machine learning algorithms to enhance diagnostic decision-making.

The complete list of honorees and their profiles are available at 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives – 2025 | Modern Healthcare and in the June 9 issue of Modern Healthcare magazine. A digital subscription is required to view the online profiles.

To learn more about Permanente Medicine, visit permanente.org.

About the Permanente Medical Groups
The Permanente Medical Groups are self-governed, physician-led, prepaid, multispecialty medical groups composed of more than 25,000 physicians. We are dedicated to the mission of improving the health of our patients and communities. Together with the Kaiser Foundation Health Plans and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, we are Kaiser Permanente — an award-winning health care system that delivers Permanente Medicine, care that is person- and family-centered, compassionate, evidence-based, technology-enabled, culturally responsive, team-delivered and physician-led, to 12.6 million Kaiser Permanente members. We work collaboratively, enabled by state-of-the art facilities and technology, to provide world-class preventive and complex care centered in eight states — from Hawaii to Maryland — and the District of Columbia.

About The Permanente Federation
The Permanente Federation LLC is the national leadership and consulting organization for the Permanente Medical Groups, which, together with the Kaiser Foundation Health Plans and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, comprise Kaiser Permanente. The Federation works on behalf of the Permanente Medical Groups to optimize care delivery and spread Permanente Medicine — care that is person- and family-centered, compassionate, evidence-based, technology-enabled, culturally responsive, team-delivered and physician-led. The Federation, based in Oakland, California, fosters an open learning environment and accelerates research, innovation, and performance improvements across the Permanente Medical Groups to expand the reach of Kaiser Permanente's integrated care delivery model and to lead the nation in transforming health care delivery.

SOURCE The Permanente Federation