Recognition
Patient Access Collaborative Awards
Each year, the Patient Access Collaborative recognizes outstanding leaders and programs driving meaningful change across academic health systems, children's hospitals, and cancer centers. These awards shine a light on the people and ideas elevating patient access in the United States.
Award Categories
Six Ways We Honor Excellence
Access Champion
Recognizes individuals who have positively impacted patient access at their health system — improving workflows, breaking down barriers, or going above and beyond for patients.
Access Emerging Leader
Honors rising leaders early in their access careers who are already demonstrating the vision, initiative, and impact of a seasoned professional.
Access Innovation
Celebrates novel approaches — new tools, workflows, or models that have meaningfully advanced patient access at an academic health system.
Access Leader of the Year
The collaborative's highest individual honor — awarded to a senior leader whose work has set the national bar for patient access.
Best Practice in Access
Recognizes replicable, measurable programs that other member health systems can learn from and adapt at their own sites.
Community Impact in Access
Honors programs whose access improvements extend beyond the health system to measurably benefit the communities they serve.
How Nominations Work
Nominate a Colleague, Your Team, or Yourself
Nominations are open to members of the Patient Access Collaborative and welcome candidates from across their health systems — individual leaders, teams, and programs. Each category has its own criteria and submission form.
The 2026 nomination window has closed. Award recipients are announced at the annual Symposium, and the next cycle opens each spring.
Explore the Program
Where to Next
Current Cycle
2026 Nominations
See full criteria, past timelines, and the current status of this year's nomination windows for each of the six awards.
View 2026 DetailsPast Recipients
Member Awards
Access Champions and other individual honorees recognized at recent symposia — with the full nomination write-ups that earned them their awards.
Meet the ChampionsKnow someone deserving?
The next nomination cycle opens each spring. Subscribe to the PAC newsletter for an alert when the 2027 submission windows go live — or reach out directly if you'd like to discuss a candidate.