By USC Health Sciences Public Relations and Marketing

A seasoned health care executive with decades of experience in the Los Angeles market has been tapped to lead Keck Medical Center’s managed care strategy.

Carol Buitrago joined USC April 30 and serves as executive administrator for managed care and community medical group development, leading the creation and implementation of a managed care strategy for the clinical enterprise.

“Carol’s is a critical new role for our organization, as we work to develop professional relationships with other community providers and industry partners, and as we work to position the Keck Medical Center of USC as a health care leader in Southern California,” said Shawn Sheffield, the medical center’s chief strategy and system development officer, to whom Buitrago reports. “She will work closely with administrators and physicians, and she will play a key part in solidifying our fiscal well-being through patient volume growth, ensuring rewarding reimbursements and maximizing our hold on the region’s health care market.”

Buitrago will be responsible for cultivating new relationships with external providers and payors, and for negotiating new contracts with outside organizations to best meet the medical center’s goals for growth and expansion. She will lead the development of a robust managed care strategy to ensure long-range financial goals. Buitrago will also be responsible for developing a new reimbursement structure for the medical enterprise, and will help navigate the changing landscape of the industry as health care reform and new payment models emerge.

Carol Buitrago

“As a Los Angeles native, I’m thrilled to be working for an organization where I can leverage my unique knowledge and expertise of this health care market,” said Buitrago. “The Keck Medical Center is poised to be a nationally recognized leader in the industry, and I look forward to the opportunity I can play in helping us get there.”

Buitrago brings with her more than two decades of leadership experience across health care settings in the Los Angeles area, as well as a rich knowledge of contracting and managed care strategy in the current health care market. She most recently served as chief executive officer of the Pasadena-based Foothill Cardiology/California Medical Group Inc. for more than 11 years. Prior to that, she spent six years in business development and managed care leadership positions at the Daniel Freeman Hospitals in Inglewood before taking on the position of chief executive officer of Culver City-based Integrated Physician Services. She holds a master’s degree in public health from UCLA.