Ben Scharfe, CPA | 2025 MHE Emerging Leaders in Healthcare

I grew up in Ottawa, Canada, earning my degree from the University of Ottawa and obtaining my CPA [certified public accountant] designation from CPA Ontario. In 2013, I achieved the National CPA Honor Roll by ranking among the top 1% of exam writers nationwide. My parents profoundly shaped my values and ambitions. My dad fostered in me a relentless curiosity and passion for reading and for data-driven insights. My mom instilled a lifelong commitment to continuous learning. Both taught me the enduring importance of kindness, empathy and compassion — values that continue to guide my professional journey in healthcare leadership. I am proud to have spent the last decade at Harris [the parent company] and Altera, involved in the diligence, acquisition and leadership of over a dozen electronic health record and practice management companies.

Turning point in your career

For years, people told me I was “too nice.” When I confided this concern to a trusted mentor, he immediately dismissed it, saying, “That’s B.S. — there’s no such thing as being too nice. Stop worrying about that.” His blunt reassurance was liberating. After years of second-guessing myself, I was newly empowered by having validation from one of the toughest and most respected executives I knew. Ever since, I’ve unapologetically embraced empathy and compassion as cornerstones of my leadership style, discovering authentic and effective ways to hold teams accountable, inspire high performance and foster meaningful collaboration.

Biggest day-to-day challenges

One major daily challenge is navigating psychological barriers to AI [artificial intelligence] adoption. Many healthcare professionals understandably feel trepidation toward embracing AI, and quantifying its value clearly enough to justify investment can be complex. The mission-critical nature of healthcare software adds urgency, leaving internal teams and clients with limited bandwidth to explore and learn new technologies amid their demanding schedules.

Another significant challenge involves establishing responsible AI practices. Developing robust control frameworks and evaluation methodologies to consistently ensure high quality, reliability and safety in AI-generated outputs is complex, particularly given the critical issue of bias. Addressing these ethical considerations thoughtfully and practically remains a novel and pressing challenge.

Finally, data interoperability continues to be a fundamental obstacle in healthcare. Unlocking our data and making it effectively commutable is essential. It serves as a critical enabler for meaningful AI innovation, ultimately empowering clinicians with impactful new capabilities and actionable insights.

Top priority

My top priority this year is to deliver tangible value through artificial intelligence to our healthcare clients — and, ultimately, their patients — by directly addressing critical barriers. Specifically, this includes overcoming psychological resistance and clearly quantifying AI’s practical value to drive adoption; establishing rigorous control frameworks to ensure responsible, ethical and bias-free use of AI; and tackling the long-standing issue of data interoperability to fully unlock the potential of AI-driven innovations. Successfully navigating these interconnected challenges will meaningfully empower clinicians, enhance patient outcomes and deliver measurable improvements in healthcare quality.

Change one thing about U.S. healthcare

I would accelerate the adoption of value-based care supported by AI to profoundly transform patient experiences and health outcomes. Value-based care realigns incentives toward preventive health and daily wellness, empowering both patients and providers to prioritize behaviors and care strategies that foster healthier lives. By integrating artificial intelligence, we can enhance efficiency and quality across the entire healthcare ecosystem to reduce costs, remove barriers and significantly expand access and affordability for high-quality care in all communities.

A book or article that everyone working in healthcare should read

There are so many influential books I would love to recommend. However, specific to healthcare professionals, my recommendation is “How Doctors Think” by Jerome Groopman. It was recommended to me by Dr. Bob Taylor, chief product strategist at Altera. With AI becoming deeply integrated into healthcare, understanding how physicians reason and make decisions is critical. Groopman masterfully illuminates medicine as both science and art, emphasizing empathy, curiosity and humility — qualities that technology alone cannot replicate. This book serves as invaluable guidance for designing AI-powered electronic health records that enhance, rather than replace, clinicians’ judgment and respect the human dimensions of patient care.

Personal goal this year

Several years ago, reading Jim Kwik’s “Limitless” inspired me deeply with the belief that anyone can learn anything. For a long time, the idea of developing my own software seemed intriguing yet out of reach. However, AI tools have recently made the learning curve much more approachable, enabling me to explore software development as a fulfilling hobby. This year, my personal aspiration is to develop one or more meaningful prototype applications that deliver tangible value, either for people close to me or potentially even for a broader audience