Officers
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Ahmed Abuabdou, MBBS, MBA, ACPA-C
President
Ahmed Abuabdou, MBBS, MBA is a practicing Hospital Medicine faculty at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas holding an academic rank of Associate Professor of Medicine. He serves as the Chief Clinical Officer for UAMS Medical Center and leads its Physician Advisory Program. He serves as Physician Champion for the Clinical Documentation Integrity Program at UAMS Medical Center and is the Editor of the CDI Newsletter of UAMS "Concise is Nice" where CDI documentation tips are shared with faculty members, residents, and fellows. Ahmed is an active member of the CDI Education Committee of the American College of Physician Advisors (ACPA). He also serves as a member at-large at the AAMC Chief Medical Officers Group Steering Committee
Ahmed graduated medical school from Gulf Medical University in the United Arab Emirates. He completed internal medicine residency training at St. Elizabeth Health Center, Youngstown, Ohio, and a blood banking / transfusion medicine fellowship at the University of Arkansas for Health Sciences. He completed a master's in business administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
In his spare time, Ahmed enjoys spending time with his wife and children.
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Scott Ceule, MD, FACP, FAAP, ACPA-C
Vice President of Education
Dr. Scott Ceule currently serves as the Lead Physician Advisor for The University of Kansas Health System.
Scott Ceule, M.D. is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine in the Emergency Department at the University of Kansas Health System. His training was in a combined Internal Medicine/Pediatrics residency, but his clinical duties have always been based in the Emergency Department or the Emergency Department Observation Unit. He serves as the Vice-Chair for Administrative Affairs for the Emergency Department.
Dr. Ceule became the first physician advisor for the health system in 2017. He has helped build the program through serving as the lead and mentor to other physician advisors. He continues to grow the program which will soon be adding its eighth physician and serves as medical director for the transfer center, which will be supported by the physician advisor team.
In 2023, Dr. Ceule served as a Vice-Chair for NPAC 2023, Mavericks of Change: The Transformative Value of Physician Advisors. He stayed on as Vice-Chair for NPAC 2024, Physician Advisors on Duty: Safeguarding Patients Amidst Shifting Currents of Healthcare. And, for 2025, Dr. Ceule returns as Chair for NPAC 2025, Healthcare Heros: Physician Advisors Reaching New Heights.
He lives in Kansas City, home of the back-to-back Superbowl champions KC Chiefs, with his wife and two adult kids. He loves to cruise with his wife and family.
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Ben Kartchner, MD, ACPA-C
Vice President of Finance
Dr. Benjamin Kartchner is a board-certified Family Medicine physician; HCQM-certified by ABQAURP in 2019. After practicing hospital medicine full-time in Northern Idaho for and beginning his work as a physician advisor in 2018, he transitioned to a physician advisor role for MultiCare Health System in Spokane, Washington. This being a new role for MultiCare, he helped develop multiple facets of physician advisor work including utilization management, care management, CDI, and population health. He has since transitioned to a Care Management and CDI focus and is the Associate Medical Director of Care Management for the Multicare Health System covering the INW/Spokane region. He was the recipient of the ABQAURP Diplomate Achievement in 2021 for work related to COVID-19 Drop Teams and spoke about agile management at NPAC 2021. He is a practicing hospitalist since 2013 and is involved in educating student and resident physicians. He lives in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on five acres with his wife and three children. Being a “hockey family, his self-described greatest accomplishment is, “building a 60x30 foot hockey rink on the property and winning the NPAC 2021 Quiz Bowl”.
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Ahmad Kilani, MD, MBA, MLS, MSIT, FACP, FACHE, ACPA-C
Vice President of Operations
Dr. Ahmad Kiani is a board certified in Internal Medicine. He has a Master of Business Administration in Healthcare from Baldwin Wallace University, a Master of Legal Studies from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, and a Master of Science in Information Technology from the University of Cincinnati. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, and board-certified in Healthcare Quality Management through the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians. After completing his internal medicine residency at Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital, he worked in the same residency program as chief resident, assistant program director, associate program director, and program director. He also served as the chair of graduate medical education. His career transitioned from education to operation, and he established the Cleveland Clinic Enterprise Physician Advisors program, which currently serves 18 hospitals. He also helped in starting the Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital observation unit and served as its first medical director. In addition to leading the physician advisors team, he currently serves as medical director of Cleveland Clinic Quality Alliance, a value-based program. He also serves as medical director of throughput for the Cleveland Clinic West submarket and associate medical director of Revenue Cycle Management. Additionally, he chairs Main campus utilization management committee. Dr Kilani has been a member of ACPA since 2017 and participates on the ACPA observation committee and many of its Town Halls. He has been married for 34 years and has two children. He enjoys video editing and public speaking about topics that promote positivity and work enjoyment.
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Stephanie Van Zandt, MD, ACPA-C
Vice President - Member Engagement
Dr. Stephanie Van Zandt is a board-certified OB/GYN who dedicated over 25 years to private practice in Clearwater, FL before transitioning into a leadership role in Utilization Management. Her journey took her from UHC-Optum to BayCare Health Systems, where she spearheaded the expansion of the Physician Advisor Program, successfully integrating multi-specialty, system- and hospital-based physician advisors across all facilities. As the Medical Director for Physician Advisor Services, Dr. Van Zandt leads a transformative, nationally recognized, full scope physician advisor program delivering the fundamental role of medical necessity determination for utilization management and denials, regulatory compliance oversight, and revenue recovery in tandem with the UR denials/appeals team. Her team fosters collaborative partnerships with hospital leadership, and teams in Utilization Management, Case Management, Managed Care Contracting, Patient Finances Services, and Coding & Clinical Documentation Integrity. Known for innovation, Dr Van Zandt incorporated APRNs into the denials management process and developed a dedicated UM analyst team to provide a robust analytical framework to enhance performance metrics and uncover opportunities for improvement within the healthcare system.
Dr. Van Zandt has been a member of ACPA since 2018, served as a Vice Co-Chair for NPAC 2023 -2025, and participates on ACPA’s Government Affairs Committee.
Dr. Van Zandt has been married for 30 years to Benjamin, an Infectious Disease physician, and together they have three children and two beloved doodles. When she’s not leading professional initiatives, she enjoys embarking on action-filled vacations with her family across the globe.
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