Health system AI adoption, digital ventures, ROI, Epic strategy, and clinical workflow transformation—Mark Townsend and Roy Bejarano unpack what it really takes to move healthcare innovation from idea to scaled execution.

In this episode, Roy Bejarano speaks with Mark Townsend, Chief Clinical Digital Ventures Officer at Bon Secours Mercy Health, about the digital transformation journey within one of the nation’s largest Catholic health systems. Mark shares how BSMH uses its venture arm, Acrete Health Partners, to identify operator-led problem statements, co-develop technologies, and scale solutions that provide strategic and operational value.

The conversation delves into the keys to successful technology adoption in health systems, including profitability, executive accountability, operational ownership, and alignment with long-term strategy. Mark also offers real-world examples, such as agentic AI for omnichannel scheduling and nursing ambient documentation with Epic and Abridge. He emphasizes the need to move away from “pilots” and focus on “projects” for sustained healthcare innovation. The discussion covers governance, AI risk, EHR limitations, and the difference between real healthcare innovation and shiny-object investing.

What You’ll Learn

• How Bon Secours Mercy Health structures its venture and digital innovation strategy
• Why BSMH shifted from investing in “solutions seeking problems” to operator-led problem-solving
• Why Mark measures digital success through one word: profitability
• Why health systems should frame initiatives as projects, not pilots
• How executive accountability and P&L ownership improve implementation success
• What “grow your way to success” means in a health system context
• How BSMH evaluates Epic vs. third-party AI solutions
• Why omnichannel appointment scheduling became a key system-level AI use case
• How nursing ambient documentation differs from physician ambient tools
• Why governance, human oversight, and informed consent matter in AI adoption

Key Timestamps

• (00:00) – Introduction to Mark Townsend and Bon Secours Mercy Health
• (00:52) – Mark’s journey from congenital cardiology to digital ventures
• (03:35) – Inside BSMH’s venture model and Acrete Health Partners
• (06:21) – Why BSMH now focuses on operator-led problem statements
• (10:55) – The real rules of technology adoption in health systems
• (12:16) – Why Mark rejects the word “pilot”
• (13:44) – Accountability, operational ownership, and project champions
• (14:44) – The acceleration fund and matching operator investment
• (16:52) – “Grow your way to success” and run-rate improvement
• (18:23) – Fail fast, fail forward, and design for scale
• (20:12) – Agentic AI for appointment scheduling: success and failure in one story
• (23:39) – Epic, MyChart, and why the EHR cannot be all things to all people
• (26:42) – Co-development, Brado, and the “big smelly onion” of implementation
• (28:47) – Nursing ambient documentation with Epic and Abridge
• (30:47) – AI governance, human-in-the-loop, and risk mitigation
• (32:39) – Using AI for quality and compliance at scale

Key Takeaways

• Health system innovation works best when operators bring the problem, not vendors
• Strategic investing loses credibility if the health system never uses what it funds
• In Mark’s framework, margin is the mission—profitability is the baseline test
• “Project” signals commitment; “pilot” signals optionality and weak accountability
• Executive sponsorship matters more than enthusiasm from the technology vendor
• The best digital initiatives are tied to strategic priorities and measurable scale
• Epic remains central, but third-party tools still fill critical workflow gaps
• Healthcare AI adoption requires governance, informed risk acceptance, and humans in the loop
• Clinical AI use cases are moving beyond physicians to nurses and broader care teams
• Real implementation is messy, bespoke, and deeply dependent on operational readiness

Resource Links

• Guest: Mark Townsend – Chief Clinical Digital Ventures Officer, Bon Secours Mercy Health
• Host: Roy Bejarano – CEO & Co-Founder, SCALE Healthcare
• Podcast: Analyzing Healthcare by SCALE Community
• SCALE Community: SCALE Community Website

Guest Bio
Mark Townsend is Chief Clinical Digital Ventures Officer at Bon Secours Mercy Health, where he leads the digital transformation efforts at one of the largest health systems in the U.S. He brings a unique perspective, with experience in clinical practice, health system operations, medical group strategy, and digital innovation. Mark’s work focuses on scaling practical, ROI-driven solutions across the system.

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