Introduction
Healthcare organizations are pouring billions into artificial intelligence, digital assistants, and advanced documentation tools. However, the critical factor determining success isn’t the sophistication of the technology itself—it’s whether frontline clinicians embrace these innovations. Research consistently shows that peer influence, not administrative mandates, drives sustainable adoption of healthcare technology.
This is where the clinician champion becomes invaluable. These trusted colleagues serve as bridges between IT departments and clinical realities, transforming skepticism into enthusiasm through demonstration, coaching, and authentic peer-to-peer communication.
What Are Clinician Champions?
Clinician champions are healthcare professionals—physicians, nurses, and advanced practice providers—who advocate for new technologies within their departments. Unlike traditional training approaches that rely on videos, help desks, or formal presentations, champions provide something far more powerful: credible, real-world validation from someone who understands the daily pressures of clinical work.
These individuals don’t simply promote technology; they test it, troubleshoot it, and explain the practical benefits in language their peers understand. They answer the critical question every clinician asks: “Will this actually make my job easier, or is it just another burden?”
The Champion Model in Action
AdventHealth’s Systematic Approach
At AdventHealth in Altamonte Springs, Florida, the champion model follows a deliberate, multi-phase sequence designed to build credibility before widespread deployment. New technologies undergo rigorous internal testing, followed by safety and usability stress-testing by clinical informaticists.
Only after proving the technology’s value do facility leaders nominate frontline champions—physicians, APPs, and nurses who intimately understand existing workflows. These champions coach their peers before the system expands to early adopters and eventually scales across the entire organization.
Dr. Philip Wu, Chief Medical Information Officer at AdventHealth, emphasizes that this sequence is critical for building trust. “A positive early impression from champions is key as they expect a workable tool that delivers results early on,” he explains.
This methodical approach has transformed hesitant clinicians into enthusiastic advocates. When AdventHealth piloted a tool enabling physicians to provide timely patient responses, champion feedback dramatically improved accuracy, tone, and speed while reducing cognitive burden. Similar success occurred with tools streamlining nurse shift handoffs.
“Champions matter because they live the workflow, translate the ‘why,’ and show colleagues the value of new tools better than any slide deck or video can,” Dr. Wu adds.
Corewell Health’s Network Strategy
Corewell Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan, demonstrates how organized champion networks drive measurable results. Their most impressive success involves ambient AI technology—once clinicians experienced the tool, retention rates soared.
Daniel Smith, Vice President of Medical Informatics, reports that champions running demos and answering on-the-ground questions helped distribute over 75% of available licenses while maintaining a remarkable 92% retention rate.
Smith’s champion selection strategy is intentionally strategic. Beyond recruiting physicians and APPs from the informatics department, he identifies cultural influencers within each unit.
“Everyone can usually name a few folks within a department who are highly influential or who tend to be loud about change,” Smith explains. “If you can get those people on board as advocates, especially the ones that tend to resist change, it can drive a high return.”
Building Trust Through Peer Influence
Natural Selection vs. Appointment
At Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, Marc Perkins-Carillo, MSN, RN, Chief Nursing Informatics Officer, has observed that the most effective champions emerge organically rather than through formal appointment.
“Nurses have long been promised that technology would ease their workload, yet too often it has added burden instead,” Perkins-Carillo notes. “Listening to staff and validating their needs is the first step. When they feel heard and see their input reflected in the solution, champions emerge naturally.”
He acknowledges the reality: being a champion requires substantial effort. “Being a champion and coaching peers is real work, and it can add to the load if not approached thoughtfully,” he says. “When champions are self-selected and motivated—not appointed by leadership—they’re more likely to stay engaged and energized, even when the work is demanding.”
Moffitt has established a nursing AI subgroup to lead education and adoption of Microsoft Copilot Chat. “By involving them early and often, we’re fostering ownership and helping staff feel like active participants, not passive recipients of AI solutions,” Perkins-Carillo explains.
The Power of Peer-to-Peer Communication
Smith at Corewell Health emphasizes that while person-to-person champion interaction yields the highest impact, scaling that approach presents challenges. “Written feedback on the benefits, time savings, ease of use, spreads easier and more quickly when it is in the words of peers,” he observes.
This peer-generated content—testimonials, tips, and success stories—carries far more weight than corporate communications because it comes from trusted colleagues who face identical challenges daily.
Formal Champion Programs
Providence in Renton, Washington, has formalized the champion role through a comprehensive network of physician informaticists spanning multiple specialties—surgery, gastroenterology, critical care, hospital medicine, ambulatory care, and urgent care.
Dr. Maulin Shah, CMIO, explains this specialty-specific approach ensures technologies are implemented optimally for each clinical context. “We’re implementing tools, and they can do the hard peer-to-peer conversations when there’s either a disagreement or dissatisfaction of any kind.”
Providence’s Physician Success Program exemplifies structured champion work, helping clinicians progress from novice to expert users. Champions conduct office hours, develop specialty-specific curricula, and round in hospitals to directly monitor adoption progress.
Shah reports these efforts have already produced notable improvements in EHR experience scores, demonstrating how champion-driven coaching reduces friction and builds trust in new systems.
The Future of Clinical Champions
As healthcare technology continues evolving rapidly, the human element of adoption remains constant. Dr. Shah at Providence articulates this perfectly: “At some point you stop trusting the videos and the education and the phone calls and the help desk. You just need to look someone in the eye and talk to them. That’s what champions are for.”
The champion model recognizes a fundamental truth about healthcare: clinicians trust clinicians. While AI, automation, and digital tools will continue advancing, the trusted colleague who can demonstrate value, answer questions, and provide real-world context will remain irreplaceable.
Conclusion
The success of healthcare technology adoption ultimately depends not on the sophistication of the software, but on the human networks that support implementation. Clinician champions serve as essential bridges between innovation and practice, transforming institutional investments into clinical value through peer influence, practical demonstration, and authentic communication.
Organizations that invest in identifying, supporting, and empowering these champions position themselves for successful technology adoption while building cultures of continuous improvement and peer-based learning.
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