Perspective

Aquarium Financial is a healthcare finance consulting venture owned by Jonathan Axon, whose broad perspective is based on three decades of leadership in healthcare finance and strategy. His experience spans leading healthcare organizations of all stripes, with a focus on providers and health plans:

  • Hospitals (Kaiser Oakland Medical Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston Medical Center)

  • Physician practices (Beth Israel Deaconess Healthcare)

  • Health plans (Kaiser Permanente, Tufts Health Plan)

  • Consulting (Deloitte & Touche)

  • Government (Massachusetts Rate Setting Commission)

“Jonathan reported to me when I was the CFO at Boston Medical Center. He has a talent for zeroing in on the data and analysis needed to make good business decisions. As a result, he became my go-to guy when I needed needed to make a key decision, such as deciding whether to proceed with a planned merger or invest in a new business line for the hospital.

He was instrumental in launching the BMC Health System’s first multi-year financial plan. His experience with providers and payers allowed him to integrate the financials from the Hospital, Health Plan, and Physician Organization and provide valuable insights.

Rich Silveria, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, University of Chicago Medical Center”

Insight

Fresh ideas and creative thinking

Ability to simplify and communicate complex ideas

““Jonathan has the ability to get to the heart of complex issues and identify the key drivers of success. Jonathan also has strong communication and presentation skills and is able to build consensus around practical and realistic solutions.“ - Michael DeSocio, Chief Financial Officer, Beth Israel Deaconess HealthCare”

Results

Jonathan brings a track record of using innovative approaches to produce great results:

  • Led the design and implementation of a new physician compensation model for 40 primary care practices in the Boston area. Project went from start to full implementation in seven months.

  • Redesigned volume reporting at Boston Medical Center to shorten lag times from 2 weeks to under an hour.

  • Created “home-grown” decision support system for BMC, and later led the successful implementation of EPSI Decision Support System

  • Created Excel-based budgeting system, and subsequently led the implementation of Strata Decision Technology budget system

  • Designed and implemented service line reports as the Finance Lead for a 340b pharmacy program that grew revenue from $30M to $210M in five years

  • Developed multi-year financial models for the integrated health systems at both Kaiser Permanante and Boston Medical Center, supporting better planning and successful bond issues

“Jonathan Axon has been working with us for about a year developing and implementing a new physician compensation model. Jon has done exemplary work for us in this regard. He has a keen intellect as well as the content knowledge resulting in a process that, though not easy (new compensation models never are)  has been a success by any measure. I would unreservedly recommend him as an approachable, creative, high energy and collaborative individual.”

 John Christoforo, FACHE, President & Chief Executive Officer, Beth Israel Deaconess HealthCare”