James Zelch
Fort Lauderdale
Summary
Physician executive with extensive leadership experience driving clinical, operational, and financial performance across value-based primary care, Medicare Advantage, and ACO environments. Recognized for creating high-reliability care systems, elevating risk-adjusted quality scores, and developing physician cultures rooted in accountability, mentorship, and measurable outcomes. Proven ability to partner with CEOs, Boards, and health plans to align clinical strategy with enterprise growth.
Overview
30
30
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Territory Medical Director
Cano Health
01.2025 - Current
- Lead regional clinical and operational performance across multi-site (30) value-based primary care centers.
- Leader to over 60 clinicians. Execute physician engagement strategy, achieving improved documentation accuracy and adherence to enterprise benchmarks.
- Strengthen Medicare Advantage and risk-based care performance using predictive analytics and targeted interventions.
- Instituted Coding and Documentation initiative increasing revenue $7.5 million in first 6 weeks, heart failure screening initiatives. Formulating and instituting clinical pathways that elevated shared-savings performance.
- Optimized clinician/patient ratio leading to decreased clinician count from 61 to 40 saving $10 million while improving patient and provider satisfaction and improving KPIs
- Partnered with analytics teams and led clinicians to deploy dashboards that influenced provider behavior and accuracy.
- Clinician Workflow Optimization:
- Improved Coding and Documentation with 55% improvement in HCC capture.
- Increased Clinician productivity by 60% leading to elevated clinician and patient satisfaction measures.
- Launched dementia screening pilot with outcome of 40% enhancement of early dementia identification.
Medical Director
NeueHealth ACO
02.2024 - 01.2025
- Directed ACO-wide performance improvement, impacting quality, utilization, and financial outcomes.
Medical Director
AssociatesMD
08.2021 - 01.2025
- Led physician onboarding, clinical workflow optimization, and care-delivery redesign.
- Improved throughput and clinical efficiency via EMR optimization and telehealth integration.
- Drove operational improvements increasing patient access and reducing care variation.
- (Acquired by NeueHealth)
Medical Director
ACE Medical Centers
01.2012 - 09.2021
- Oversaw clinical performance, regulatory compliance, and risk-adjusted quality initiatives.
- Elevated HEDIS and CMS quality scores through targeted provider coaching and redesigned clinical pathways.
- Built a culture of high performance, resulting in stronger retention and measurable quality gains.
Assistant Professor
Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
01.2013 - 01.2021
- Educated physicians in systems-based practice, evidence-based medicine, and clinical leadership.
- Served on Admissions committee.
Founder & Medical Director
PrimeCare Health Plan & PrimeCare Medical Centers
01.1996 - 01.2011
- Founded and scaled an integrated primary care network with managed-care contracts.
- Designed chronic disease and preventive programs that delivered improved cost-to-quality ratios.
Education
MBA Coursework - undefined
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern
MD - undefined
University of Michigan
BA, Economics (Honors) - undefined
University of Michigan
Family Medicine Residency - undefined
Northwestern University Affiliated
Chief Medical Officer Academy - undefined
AAPL
01.2025
Skills
- Transformational Physician Leadership
- Population Health & Medicare Advantage Optimization
- Multi-site Clinical Operations & Growth Scaling
- HEDIS / STAR / Risk Adjustment Performance Architecture
- Payer/Health Plan Contracting & Performance
- Organizational Change Leadership & Culture Development
- Data-Driven Clinical Decision Intelligence
Websites
Certification
- Board Certified, American Board of Family Medicine
- Certified, National Board of Medical Examiners
- Active Licenses: Michigan & Florida
AFFILIATIONS & HONORS
Assistant Professor, OUWB School of Medicine, Phi Delta Epsilon Medical Fraternity, Mortar Board Honor Society | Honors Economics Program, Branstrom Award | State of Michigan Competitive Scholarship
LEADERSHIP IMPACT SNAPSHOT
- Increased risk-adjusted documentation accuracy and improved RAF scoring through physician coaching.
- Achieved measurable improvements in HEDIS and STAR performance via redesigned workflows and accountability systems.
- Strengthened revenue integrity through clinical documentation excellence initiatives.
- Scaled clinical operations across multiple sites while maintaining quality and compliance excellence.
- Elevated engagement and retention of physician teams through structured mentorship systems.
Timeline
Territory Medical Director
Cano Health
01.2025 - Current
Medical Director
NeueHealth ACO
02.2024 - 01.2025
Medical Director
AssociatesMD
08.2021 - 01.2025
Assistant Professor
Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
01.2013 - 01.2021
Medical Director
ACE Medical Centers
01.2012 - 09.2021
Founder & Medical Director
PrimeCare Health Plan & PrimeCare Medical Centers
01.1996 - 01.2011
MBA Coursework - undefined
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern
MD - undefined
University of Michigan
BA, Economics (Honors) - undefined
University of Michigan
Family Medicine Residency - undefined
Northwestern University Affiliated
Chief Medical Officer Academy - undefined
AAPL