University of Michigan Medical Center

Alicia Majcher

Care Transformation Advisor

Alicia Majcher has spent her career making healthcare more connected, practical and people-centered. After completing her Master’s in Health Services Administration at the University of Michigan, she began with a fellowship at Trinity Health, where she gained early insight into the challenges of working within large health systems.

She later joined Medical Advantage Group, where she helped launch Care Bridge, a care management program that reached nearly 100,000 patients through a Medicare demonstration project. This work deepened her interest in population health and building systems that support long-term care outcomes. At Huron Valley Physicians Association, she led quality operations and worked closely with providers to strengthen care delivery across practices.

Now serving as Director of Care Management and Population Health at the University of Michigan Medical Center, Alicia continues to guide ambulatory care teams through value-based care programs and risk-based contracts, always focusing on what helps patients and teams thrive.

Through this article, Majcher emphasizes the importance of building care systems that are both intuitive and deeply human, where patients feel seen, supported and understood. She believes meaningful change happens through small, thoughtful steps, supported by collaboration across teams and data-informed decisions.

Designing Systems that Work for People

Over the years, my vision for patient-centered care has become more grounded in simplicity and connection. Healthcare can feel overwhelming, especially in large systems, so I focus on making care more intuitive and responsive. I believe systems need to anticipate patient needs and activate the right support at the right time, without burdening patients to figure things out.

At the same time, strong relationships matter. People want to feel seen and supported by those who care for them. At the University of Michigan Medical Center, we serve many complex, high-risk patients who place deep trust in us. My work has centered on creating structures that make their experience more personal and thoughtful, where the right people are in place and patients feel we are thinking ahead on their behalf.

Building Smarter Care Models for Stronger Support

When I think about patient-centered care, I focus on understanding the full picture of someone’s life and not just their clinical needs, but also their emotional and social realities. Care becomes much more effective when we can meet people where they are and offer support that fits into their day-to-day experience.

“When i think about patient-centered care, i focus on understanding the full picture of someone’s life and not just their clinical needs, but also their emotional and social realities”

At Michigan Medicine, we work hard to make this approach part of everyday practice. For example, in primary care, we’ve built in regular screenings for depression and suicidality. These screenings are automated, so we can consistently check in with patients and recognize when they need support. If a screening shows something concerning, the system flags it, outlines options for next steps and notifies the right team members, whether a social worker, a behavioral health specialist or someone else. The provider leads the conversation, but they’re supported by a connected team that can step in when needed.

We’ve taken a similar approach to the social determinants of health. Gathering that information is built into the workflow, and the system helps direct patients to the right resources without creating extra work for the provider. It’s a way to bring the right support to the surface based on real-time needs.

To me, this is what thoughtful care looks like—designing processes that respond to people’s whole lives, building strong teams and creating a system that knows how to listen. When we do this well, patients feel understood and care becomes more meaningful for everyone involved.

Keeping People at the Center of Innovation

At Michigan Medicine, one of the most important goals for our team is helping people feel like they belong. That means ensuring every patient and staff member feels welcome, important and heard. To do this, we look at our data to see where care might not be working, for example, in certain clinics, neighborhoods or patient groups. When we see differences in care or outcomes, we try to understand why. Then we create plans to better connect with those patients and support them in ways that matter to them.

Our aim is to give care that feels right for each person. Not what we think they need, but what works for them. I think the idea is, how do we make technology work for us while not losing the human connection that’s so important in healthcare? And if we can get that balance right, we’ll be doing right by our patients and by our staff too.

Turning Vision into Collective Action

In my experience, it’s been important to hold a clear vision of the kind of care we want to build—one that’s more connected, more thoughtful and truly centered around people. Large systems don’t change overnight; real progress often comes through small, steady wins. I’ve found that when we take those wins and share them, bring in clinical teams, operational leaders and colleagues across departments, we can solve problems together in ways that go further. Progress becomes stronger and more sustainable when solutions support both the system and the people at the center of it.