CSHSMD Board Member Profile: Will Pittman
System Director of Strategic Planning, UNC Health Care

Launching his career in general management consulting, Will Pittman is a health care entrepreneur who has experience in physician practice management, practice acquisition, independent strategic consulting, and internal strategic planning for a health care system.

Will was introduced to the dynamic business of health care during a consulting engagement that involved a process improvement initiative for film delivery in mammograms. His interest in improving the disjointed health care industry and his launch of a health IT company began with a family member’s undiagnosed health issue. Despite seeing providers in three different states over a two-year time span, an accurate and comprehensive diagnosis proved elusive. Within a two-hour visit to one of the top health care facilities in the country, the health issue was diagnosed and a treatment plan was underway. During these ongoing medical visits, care was sometimes delayed as a result of not receiving medical records from other facilities. This delay in care delivery due to a lack of medical record consolidation called to Will’s entrepreneurial spirit. In 2006, Will partnered with his brother-in-law to launch Magnus Health, a health IT company that is now the leading provider for web-based student medical records. With more than 1,000 programs nationwide — ranging from small, private K-12 schools to large, public universities — the company’s primary focus is streamlining the collection and secure storage of student health information. He now serves in a financial capacity for the growing company headquartered in Raleigh.

Some of Will’s most distinguished accomplishments as the Director of Strategy and Business Development at Rex Healthcare include being on a team that acquired and merged two private surgical physician practices in Raleigh and successful approval of CON applications for a new Rex Holly Springs Hospital and a Rex Heart Hospital. In his current role of System Director of Strategic Planning for UNC Health Care, Will has enjoyed the integration of UNC Hospitals and Rex strategic planning teams, being on the leading edge of health care system integration, and watching his team progress in their individual careers. He recognizes the opportunity that comes with being an internal strategy group with relationships throughout the system, which results in a unique ability to influence strategic health care system decisions. Further, as the UNC Health Care System has grown across the state of North Carolina, so has the weight of system strategic decisions.

Will’s keys to success include relationship management and a unified team. He emphasizes that getting physicians onboard is essential to driving sustainable strategy for a health care system.

Will received his Bachelors in English from UNC Chapel Hill and Masters in International Business from the University of South Carolina. Both natives of Raleigh, Will and his wife Nadine live in Raleigh with their two sons, ages ten and five. During his free time, Will enjoys fly fishing, golf, and playing the guitar.