Our experts are closely monitoring eight healthcare trends that are shaping industry leaders’ strategies in 2025.

And this year is especially interesting, as 2024’s U.S. election results could significantly shift healthcare policy and impact healthcare access, affordability, regulation, and innovation.

As such, forward-looking healthcare organizations (HCOs) that are on-track to differentiate their brand in the modern marketplace demonstrate some key characteristics:

• Pragmatically progressive strategies
• Strong partnerships to see those strategies through

Let’s dive into the eight healthcare trends and pragmatic innovations that our experts are helping HCOs navigate in 2025.

Healthcare Trend #1: AI Disruption and Enablement

Healthcare has seen a surge of interest in AI, with the market set to soar to $187.95 billion by 2030. But the industry faces unique challenges that other sectors don’t encounter. Strict regulations around HIPAA, PHI, and PII create significant barriers, making it difficult to adopt off-the-shelf AI solutions from fields like commerce or digital experience. These regulations demand that healthcare AI be specifically tailored to ensure data privacy, security, and compliance, limiting the utility of plug-and-play approaches seen in other industries.

Recommended Approach: AI should not be viewed as a standalone strategy but rather as a powerful enabler of broader business objectives. A well-formed strategy aligns key business priorities with organizational capabilities – people, technology, and processes – to create a cohesive framework. AI’s transformative potential can then be harnessed to address high-impact use cases for HCOs that are defined by clear KPIs and measurable outcomes. However, this potential can only be fully realized if AI is implemented with careful consideration of ethical, security and privacy, and oversight issues. This approach ensures that AI drives tangible value, tailored to the unique needs and strengths of the organization.

Success In Action: Accelerating CSR Support of Benefits Questions Using GenAI

Healthcare Trend #2: Cost Management Without Sacrificing Agility

HCOs continue to face substantial challenges in maintaining margins. While there are many macro and operational factors at play, cost management will play a key part in C-suite planning for the foreseeable future. Against this background, leaders are still under intense competitive pressure to improve many aspects of the digital experience. This tension is driving renewed interest in automation, including AI, and an emphasis on MVP+ and Agile delivery of everything from data modernization to websites and search.

Recommended Approach: Strategic cohesion is vital to ensure initiatives are supported by extremely clear goals and KPIs, and ultimately deliver business value and better health outcomes. A rigorous yet practical business transformation mindset has therefore never been more important. Leaders must prioritize technology investments that balance shorter-term wins and longer-range viability. Cost containment will require compromises. Thus, organizational alignment and change management become even more vital as teams competing for technology development dollars evolve their focus from departmental goals to enterprise sustainability.

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Healthcare Trend #3: Clinician Burnout and Patient Impacts

Approximately 63% of physicians report burnout at least once a week. Clinician burnout not only exacerbates staffing challenges and jeopardizes the health and well-being of frontline healthcare workers, it also poses critical risks to patient safety, care quality, and the long-term sustainability of HCOs. Burnout can lead to increased medical errors, compromised decision-making, and diminished patient-provider relationships, directly impacting the experience and outcomes for patients and potentially increasing insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses for members. Every departing nurse or physician deepens the cycle, as budget freezes and shortages in the workforce make it difficult, if not impossible, to replace these key personnel. As the pressure mounts, remaining staff and healthcare consumers all suffer – with longer wait times, reduced continuity of care, and overall diminished access to services, threatening the very stability of healthcare delivery systems.

Recommended Approach: Ease the burden on clinicians by first understanding teams’ day-to-day friction points. Engaging directly with end-users ensures their voices inform your modernization efforts, fostering a culture of collaboration that can drive meaningful change. This open dialogue cultivates powerful change advocates who will champion the adoption of digital investments, such as smart automation, trusted data, advanced analytics, and integrated consumer experiences. Furthermore, organizations must strategically engage and resonate with providers who are contemplating career transitions, ensuring that their needs and aspirations are addressed. These efforts not only contribute to your HCO’s bottom line but also enhance the overall experience for everyone—providers, patients, and caregivers alike. In both the short- and long-term, these initiatives will build trust within your consumer base, positioning your organization as a desirable destination for care and ultimately fostering a healthier, more engaged community.

See Also: Perficient Mentioned in Two Forrester Reports on Tech-Enabled Clinician Experiences

Healthcare Trend #4: Experiences That Build Trust

Research from Gallup showed consumers, in 2023, had some of the lowest levels of trust ever recorded in the healthcare industry. Although we are seeing levels of trust in HCOs begin to improve, they still have a long way to go. 2025 will see the continued push to meet healthcare consumers’ demand for convenience and personalized digital experiences.

Recommended Approach: From everyday commerce to the 2024 presidential election, we continue to see one clear fact: It’s imperative to know your audience. There is no “typical” healthcare consumer, and if you don’t treat people as individuals with unique, personal needs, you risk losing them to another HCO that does. Your organization must incorporate comprehensive healthcare personas and journeys to fully understand the people you serve, how they want you to communicate with them, and how they access your care or services — or risk losing them. Consider potential areas of mistrust for your organization and address them now to build consumers’ confidence. Key areas where we often help HCOs do just that are through digital front door strategies, implementation of intelligent search, and reimagining information architecture (IA).

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Healthcare Trend #5: Competition From Disruptive Healthcare Models

We’ve seen upheaval in the realm of healthcare disruptors — as Walmart has pulled out and Walgreens has pulled back, Best Buy has jumped in. Healthcare disruptors are finding out something traditional healthcare organizations (HCOs) have known for some time: Success in the healthcare industry is a complicated. But we are seeing disruptors to the traditional healthcare model find that success. Companies like Hims, Hers, and Henry Meds combine the best of empathetic, consumer-friendly language with convenient, powerful commerce experiences designed to help users way find and convert quickly.

Recommended Approach: Traditional HCOs that want to compete against successful disruptors require thoughtful, thorough business transformation. Take stock of your organization’s KPIs and how you are measuring success. Are you driving toward growth? If so, is it the right kind of growth to stand out? Next, determine whether you’re meeting the evolving expectations of today’s healthcare consumers. Be mindful of considerations around health equity and social determinants of health (SDOH) and align your strategies to match. Ultimately, we’re seeing powerful outcomes from organizations that shift from a project-focused model to a product-driven approach. Product-driven healthcare enables greater agility to respond to market shifts and fluctuations, as well as industry trends, the uncertainty of changes in healthcare regulation, and the demands of today’s consumers.

Read More: Is Your Healthcare Organization Really Product-Driven?

Healthcare Trend #6: Better Health Outcomes Through Shared Health Data

Efforts to reduce costs and improve health outcomes are driving collaboration among HCOs as health plans and integrated systems aim to more-holistically support consumer health, ease the care journey, and reduce the cost of care. Clinical data spanning an individual’s various provider relationships is crucial for a comprehensive patient view. Meanwhile, leaders continue to explore ways AI and automation can illuminate a 360-degree consumer view to power personalization, boost retention, and increase business resilience. These discussions are forcing focus toward data quality, consistency, governance, and bias.

Recommended Approach: Cloud services’ importance has surged to meet the growing need for real-time, accessible data. We recommend that HCOs continue building a scalable foundation to connect and integrate consumer data across health systems, providers, and insurers. This requires focus in several key areas, including data integration, data management. and data consistency and quality. Only then can data be richly woven into a reliable 360-degree view of the consumer that spans and supports better care management, marketing engagement, and support services. To optimize costs, we anticipate increasing adoption of data virtualization (a.k.a., Data as a Service, or DaaS). This unified data access layer approach bypasses the need to replicate data across various patient and member data management systems (e.g., data warehouses, MarTech, contact center, etc.), and offers a single view of enriched and transformed data from multiple data sources.

Explore More: Data-Driven Companies Move Faster and Smarter

Healthcare Trend #7: Care For the Aging and Underserved

An aging consumer base and a growing emphasis on health equity are reshaping patient engagement and business models for HCOs. According to the National Institute on Aging, approximately 85% of older adults have at least one chronic health condition, and 60% have at least two chronic conditions. In response, health insurers intensified focus on Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care plans to effectively serve a more diverse and underserved member population. Concurrently, providers are expanding into digitally connected services, such as telemedicine, remote patient monitoring, and personalized care plans, enabling patients to manage their health in more convenient and accessible settings. These shifts not only enhance patient experience and satisfaction but also foster a more inclusive healthcare system that addresses the unique needs of various demographic groups.

Recommended Approach: Deeply understand your patients’ and members’ journeys so you can deliver differentiated digital experiences in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Improve brand affinity with intuitive, personalized, accessible care moments that build trust (and bolster Star ratings). Intelligently automate systems and processes to optimize costs and build margin that can buffer potential shifts in reimbursement models. The integration of Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) data adds value by addressing factors like transportation, housing, and food security that impact health outcomes. Through a surround-care approach, powered with important health insights and intuitive tools, HCOs can strengthen community and individual health. This comprehensive strategy enhances engagement and trust while promoting better health outcomes and equity across diverse populations.

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Healthcare Trend #8: Mandate-Driven Transformation

Regulatory mandates continue to drive significant investment and effort from all HCO’s. Leaders strive to meet evolving requirements in CMS interoperability and prior authorization, price transparency, TEFCA, and others. Meanwhile, HHS insight on PHI and legal cases muddy the waters of HIPAA. In general, the effort to understand expectations, implement new functionality, and abide by existing mandates continues to increase. These mandates may seem simple at first, but they have significant implications as insurers work to incorporate patient data using standards common to the provider world. HCOs cannot simply repurpose hastily-constructed solutions from earlier mandates as a foundation for future compliance. Upcoming mandates are meant to build upon those that came before. Without a scalable approach and a thoughtful architecture, HCO’s will find themselves with an ever-increasing debt burden.

Recommended Approach: We encourage leaders to identify mandates’ silver lining opportunities. After all, to remain competitive and compliant, HCOs must innovate in ways that add business value, meet consumers’ evolving expectations, build trust, and deliver equitable care and services. Achieving transformative outcomes and health experiences requires a digital strategy that not only satisfies mandates but also aligns the enterprise around a shared vision and actionable KPIs, ultimately keeping patients, members, and care teams at the heart of progress.

Therefore, we recommend that HCOs approach mandates as a set of iterations, using a strategy-first approach that holistically considers the broader mandate and regulatory landscape. Keep a pulse on what other healthcare organizations – especially new market entrants and disruptors – are doing. Adapt digital best practices from outside of the healthcare industry. And deeply understand the nuance of interoperability standards, patient data modeling, API gateways, and SMART on FHIR applications.

The most successful organizations will build a proper foundation that scales and supports successive mandates. Composable architecture offers a powerful, flexible approach that balances “best in breed,” fit-for-purpose solutions while bypassing unneeded, costly features or services. Tactically, organizations can accelerate value, privacy, and data quality with secure, compliant, and modern technology platforms and data architectures. It’s also vital to build trust in data and with consumers, paving the way for ubiquitous, fact-based decision making that supports health and enables relationships across the care continuum.

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Expert Digital Healthcare Consulting Services: Imagine, Create, Engineer, Run

In this next decade, advances in digital health, growing consumerism, and mounting financial constraints will propel how HCOs shape experiences and deliver equitable, high-quality, cost-effective care.

Perficient combines strategy, industry best practices, and technology expertise to deliver award-winning results for leading health plans and providers:

• Business Transformation: Activate strategy for transformative outcomes and health experiences.
• Modernization: Maximize technology to drive health innovation, efficiency, and interoperability.
• Data Analytics: Power enterprise agility and accelerate healthcare insights.
• Consumer Experience: Connect, ease, and elevate impactful health journeys.

We are trusted by leading technology partners, mentioned by analysts, and Modern Healthcare consistently ranks us as one of the largest healthcare consulting firms.

Discover why we have been trusted by the 10 largest health systems and the 10 largest health insurers in the U.S. Explore our healthcare expertise and contact us to learn more.

The saying “one size fits all,” absolutely does not apply to the healthcare industry. Consumers are flat out demanding a more tailored approach to their health care.

To provide this type of more personalized and effective care and services, healthcare organizations (HCOs) need to take concentrated efforts to understand the diverse needs and preferences of their consumers. As reported in Global Research Health Network, this includes:

• Identifying who the patients are and what beliefs, affinities and requirements shape their decision-making
• Determining who to target, how to talk with them and how to best tailor communication strategies to resonate with them
• Uncovering where to find these consumers and the drivers of their current behavior

That is where the value of healthcare segmentation comes into play.

What is Healthcare Segmentation?

Healthcare segmentation has emerged as a powerful tool for healthcare providers, payers, and other stakeholders to tailor their services and interventions. It is a strategic approach of dividing a population or target audience into distinct groups or “segments” based on certain characteristics, such as demographics, health behaviors, medical history, or other relevant factors.

Segmentation allows healthcare professionals, organizations, and marketers to gain valuable insights into their consumers’ behavior, preferences, and health care needs, and enables them to tailor their strategies, interventions, and communications to specific groups, thereby improving the efficiency and effectiveness of health care delivery.

Healthcare segmentation involves categorizing the population into distinct groups based on various characteristics. These categories can vary depending on the specific objectives of the segmentation strategy and the available data.

There are five common categories of healthcare segmentation:

• Demographic: age, gender, race, income, education, and occupation.
• Geographic: geographical location, such as region, country, state, city, or rural vs. urban areas
• Behavioral: health behaviors, lifestyle choices, motivation, interaction with technology, and adherence to medical recommendations
• Psychographic: attitudes, values, and interests and behaviors
• Clinical: medical conditions, severity of illness, treatment responses and other clinical factors

These categories are often used in combination to create more comprehensive and nuanced consumer profiles, enabling HCOs to better understand their consumer populations and design targeted interventions and strategies to improve outcomes and satisfaction.

Unleashing the Value of Healthcare Segmentation

Healthcare segmentation offers immense value in the modern healthcare landscape. Through segmentation, HCOs can facilitate personalized care delivery, efficient resource allocation, improved engagement, targeted interventions, and better health outcomes. By tailoring health care services to specific consumer segments, HCOs can enhance satisfaction, optimize health care delivery, and drive overall system efficiency. Moreover, healthcare segmentation plays a crucial role in promoting health equity, reducing disparities, and fostering innovation in care delivery models.

Let’s dig in.

Tailored Interventions

• With advancements in medical technology and genomics, there is a growing emphasis on personalized medicine. Segmentation enables HCOs to identify subgroups of patients with similar characteristics or health profiles, allowing for more targeted communications, treatments and interventions that are tailored to individual needs and preferences.

Resource Optimization

• In an era of limited resources and rising healthcare costs, optimizing resource allocation is critical for HCOs. By understanding the unique needs of different segments, HCOs can identify high-risk patients who require intensive interventions or resources, allowing for more efficient and effective allocation of resources and prioritizing and optimizing the distribution of health care services and cost savings.

Improved Patient Outcomes

• Tailoring healthcare strategies to specific segments can lead to better health outcomes. Personalized interventions are more likely to resonate with individuals, encouraging continual engagement, positive behavior change and better health management and adherence to recommended treatments.

Enhanced Patient Experience

• Consumers today are more empowered and informed than ever before, and they expect personalized experiences across all aspects of their health care journey. When health care services are tailored to individual needs, consumers are more likely to have a positive experience. This, in turn, can contribute to increased satisfaction, engagement and loyalty.

Health Equity

• Understanding the unique needs and barriers faced by underserved or marginalized communities, HCOs can use segmentation to identify disparities in healthcare access, utilization, and outcomes among different population groups and develop targeted strategies to improve health equity and reduce disparities in health care delivery.

Data-Driven Decision

• By leveraging data analytics and segmentation techniques, HCOs can make more informed decisions about resource allocation, service delivery, quality improvement initiatives, and strategic planning by analyzing trends and patterns of their populations.

Ultimately, by harnessing the power of segmentation, HCOs can strive towards the goal of delivering consumer-centered care and services, value-based care that meets the diverse needs of individuals and communities.

Challenges To Healthcare Segmentation

While healthcare segmentation offers numerous benefits, there are also challenges associated with implementing and effectively utilizing segmentation strategies. Some key challenges include:

Data Quality and Availability

• Data may be fragmented across different systems, inconsistent, or incomplete, making it difficult to develop accurate and comprehensive consumer profiles.

Privacy and Compliance Concerns

• HCOs must navigate complex privacy regulations, when collecting, storing, and analyzing patient data for segmentation purposes. Ensuring compliance with privacy laws while leveraging data for segmentation can be challenging and requires robust data governance and security measures.

Integration of Data Sources

• Harmonize data from disparate sources, such as electronic health records (EHRs), claims data, surveys, and social determinants of health (SDOH) to create a unified view of the patient population for segmentation purposes can be a struggle in creating a unified view of the consumer.

Analytical Complexity

• Analyzing large volumes of data to identify meaningful consumer segments requires advanced analytical tools and expertise and most HCOs lack the necessary analytical capabilities or resources to conduct sophisticated segmentation analyses effectively.

Accuracy and Validity

• Developing accurate and valid consumer segments requires careful consideration of segmentation criteria and methodologies. Challenges related to the selection of appropriate segmentation variables, sample sizes, statistical techniques, and validation methods may arise.

Patient Engagement and Trust

• Implementing segmentation strategies may raise concerns among patients about privacy, fairness and discrimination, and the use of personal data. Therefore, HCOs must communicate transparently with consumers about the purpose and benefits of segmentation to build trust and ensure engagement in segmentation initiatives.

Resource Constraints

• Segmentation initiatives may require significant investments in technology, infrastructure, resources, and training. Those HCOs with limited resources may struggle to allocate sufficient resources to segmentation efforts or prioritize them over competing priorities.

Forging a Clear Path Forward

Healthcare segmentation holds immense value within the industry. By tailoring interventions to specific groups, healthcare providers can deliver more effective and efficient care, ultimately reducing costs and improving overall health management. However, challenges such as data privacy concerns, the need for sophisticated analytics, and potential inequalities in care must be addressed to fully realize these benefits.

As health care continues to evolve, the next frontier for segmentation lies in leveraging advanced technologies like AI and big data analytics to refine and expand segmentation strategies, ensuring that all patient groups receive the most precise and equitable care possible.

Have questions? We help the largest HCOs navigate intense technological and regulatory requirements, control costs, and delight patients and members. Perficient has been trusted by the 10 largest health systems and 10 largest health insurers to deliver transformative results. Contact us today, and let’s discuss your specific needs and goals.

We’re all about opening doors for consumers, members and patients in the healthcare space. We shared a three-part series on the digital front door designed to help healthcare organizations (HCOs) create cohesive experiences that are welcoming to consumers. But having a digital front door implies that a digital back door exists. And therein lies the problem.

The term “digital back door” is harder to define than its forward-facing counterpart. There are two main definitions in play in the industry. The first is fairly innocuous. The second is … well, very much not. And misunderstandings around this term could lead to far-reaching consequences for your HCO.

What does the digital back door mean for your organization and the industry overall? Which definition is the “right one”? Or does that even matter? Let’s dive into these questions together.

Digital back door definition, take 1

The first application of “digital back door” is simple. It comprises all the systems, tools and processes your HCO uses to remain present and relevant in patients’ minds after they come in both the digital and physical front doors. This can include:

• Automation of follow-up appointments
• Automation of referrals
• Patient data monitoring
• Patient education
• Regular messaging touchpoints, both automated and scheduled
• Virtual care
• And many others

These are all good, positive tools to improve the experience for patients. And they’re nearly expected in the new consumer-focused era of healthcare. People are used to the way they receive services and goods in the digital age. Healthcare needs to conform to those expectations. Doing so not only helps HCOs meet consumer expectations but also helps them maintain market share despite the growing presence of healthcare disruptors.

Digital back door definition, take 2

The second application of “digital back door” isn’t quite as simple. It stems from Jim-Crow-era requirements for Black and other non-white people to enter doctors’ offices and other places through the back door (please note that there’s some harsh language on that linked webpage). As noted in the writings of Kim Gallon, PhD, MS, MLIS, and other researchers, today’s digital back door can also refer to tools and processes that lead to unequal treatment of consumers and patients. These can include:

• Racially biased algorithms used in diagnosis and treatment
• Limitations in needed infrastructure to serve medically underserved populations
• “Dirty data” – datasets and systems built on inequitable biases

These and other systems can lead to health inequities — which the World Health Organization defines as “systematic differences in the health status of different population groups.” And these too can arise from the consumerism model of healthcare. If we treat healthcare as a commodity to be bought and sold, according to this theory, those who have more money have more access to healthcare — rather than it being a basic human right.

For example, the push in recent years toward virtual care could lead to lower availability of care for those who don’t have reliable broadband internet connections (or any internet connectivity at all). There have been studies that show using certain algorithms to diagnose patients leads to Black patients being sicker than white patients despite both groups having the same level of risk and the white patients being identified for extra care. And researchers noted in one study that Black patients were more than twice as likely as white patients to have at least one negative descriptor in their electronic health record (EHR) notes, such as “resistant” or “noncompliant.”

What should I call it, then?

Because there’s ambiguity in the term — and especially because one of the definitions is so negative — we recommend not using the term if at all possible.

That doesn’t mean your work to improve ongoing patient relationships should stop, however. But we do recommend changing the terminology you use. One alternative we’ve seen and like is “patient relationship management” (PRM). This again borrows from our friends in the retail world and the well-known “customer relationship management” (CRM) model.

Secondly, make sure your HCO is working to foster a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Let your current and potential patients know your organization welcomes patients of all backgrounds, cultures, races, sexual orientations and more. This can be challenging, particularly in states where DEI initiatives have come under siege. But taking a stand will be important to prove to your patients that they can expect the same quality care from your organization as anyone else would.

Keep the door open for your patients

Whether you need help building the systems and infrastructure to maintain relationships with your patients after their appointments or you need help reaching audiences and patients from all walks of life, we’re here for you. Our experts bring a wealth of knowledge and experience in every aspect of healthcare, from intelligent automation to data and analytics to DEI and more. Contact us to learn more about our solutions.

I recently sat down with one of our lead project managers, Janelle McDonald. I enjoyed hearing more about her position at Perficient and the role Perficient plays in creating a more equitable healthcare industry, and I’m sure you will too.

Describe your role. How do you make a difference for our clients, colleagues, communities, and teams? What does a typical day or project look like?

Janelle enjoys traveling in her personal time.

As a Project Manager, I serve as a “translator” between business and technical resources to develop innovative healthcare solutions. A typical day starts with a Scrum call and usually ends with a tracking meeting for any roadblockers. In between there are lots of meetings and writing for user stories, requirements, and updates to Confluence. I find Jira/Confluence to be a great communication tool between our team and the client. Keeping up with the changes in healthcare technology is critical to making a positive impact for clients. For me, product management is knowing your market innovations and government mandates. As artificial intelligence invades healthcare systems, it is important to know the possibilities and recognize the client product pitfalls.

What are the things you value about working: 1) In your role? 2) On your team? 3) At this company?

In My Role: With over 25 years of healthcare IT experience, it is invigorating to see the rapid changes for the industry. Healthcare IT remained stagnant during the early 2000s; now it is evolving every day.

On My Team: The team’s can-do attitude during critical product delivery phases. Management is always available to remove roadblocks and scope changes.

At This Company: The vast array of resources and learning opportunities available to all.

SEE MORE: Work-Life Balance at Perficient

What made you decide to work for Perficient? What makes you stay and want to do your best work at Perficient?

I chose to work at Perficient because of their industry reputation. I stay because I am enjoying my work and not being targeted as a scapegoat when a project is difficult.

Healthcare and life sciences organizations are increasingly focused on equity. The digital transformations we deliver can either support greater equity or – the opposite – exacerbate inequities. How are you seeing diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) addressed in your work and in the industry? And how are you approaching your work through an equity lens?

Janelle’s dream home located in Scotland.

DE&I is critical to healthcare product work; specifically, member preferences. To support greater equity, it is necessary to gather more than claims and prior authorization data. Demographic data is insufficient to identify individuals experiencing health roadblocks. Engaging with the client to identify their pain points requires daily conversations and a deep understanding of the members interaction points. For example, is an increase in call center activity related to a change in payment policy? How can I assist that client to minimize the negative impact? Is the change mandatory or specific to the client? Another example is industry leaders are removing medical services from the prior authorization list. By using generative AI to identify at risk members the insurance companies are reach out to the members with preventative services.

In the work you deliver for healthcare and life sciences clients, how does your industry experience enable you to better-support client/industry culture?

My industry tenure of 25+ years, provides a client with a wide range of experience in digital systems, mandates, and innovation. Additionally, I am a member of several industry groups that work on technology advancements such as Medicaid Technical Advisory Group, Guidehouse, and Linkedin.

 (Optional) What else would you like people to know about working at Perficient? Any final thoughts?

I love the diversity at Perficient. On a daily basis,  I work with people from three continents and those who speak multiple languages. Traveling the world is my lifetime goal. I have lived in Turkey for three years, spent a month traveling Scotland, and visit Mexico regularly.

Healthcare Leaders Turn to Us

Our healthcare experts understand the unique challenges facing the industry. The 10 largest health systems and 10 largest health insurers in the U.S. have counted on us to support their end-to-end digital success. Modern Healthcare has also recognized us as the fifth-largest healthcare IT consulting firm.

We bring pragmatic, strategically-grounded know-how to our clients’ initiatives. And our work gets attention – not only by industry groups that recognize and award our work but also by top technology partners that know our teams will reliably deliver complex, game-changing implementations. Most importantly, our clients demonstrate their trust in us by partnering with us again and again. We are incredibly proud of our 90% repeat business rate because it represents the trust and collaborative culture that we work so hard to build every day within our teams and with every client.

With more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, Perficient is a trusted, end-to-end, global digital consultancy.

SEE MORE PEOPLE OF PERFICIENT

It’s no secret our success is because of our people. No matter the technology or time zone, our colleagues are committed to delivering innovative, end-to-end digital solutions for the world’s biggest brands, and we bring a collaborative spirit to every interaction. We’re always seeking the best and brightest to work with us. Join our team and experience a culture that challenges, champions, and celebrates our people.

Learn more about what it’s like to work at Perficient at our Careers page. See open jobs or join our talent community for career tips, job openings, company updates, and more!

Go inside Life at Perficient and connect with us on LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Our global colleagues bring an unmatched level of dedication, passion, and drive to every project and deliverable. Through Perficient’s industry expertise in healthcare, we can make a difference for patients, care teams, and their families. Healthcare organizations play an integral role in providing equitable access to care options, and Perficient is uniquely positioned to equip industry leaders with the tools, capabilities, and strategy to transform the healthcare journey.

We recently heard from Stephanie Sterling, business operations manager, Healthcare, about her experience working at Perficient. Learn how she is creating a collaborative environment where colleagues feel valued, while supporting Perficient’s approach to healthcare through an equity lens.

Describe your role at Perficient. What does a typical day look like?

As the business operations manager for the healthcare group, I hold the responsibility of making a positive impact on my colleagues by offering structure, support, and training. I ensure that my colleagues have the essential tools and process clarity required to thrive in their roles. Additionally, I prioritize improving communication channels, which ultimately enhances collaboration and contributes to a more cohesive team.

DISCOVER MORE: Read About the Individual Success Stories of Our Colleagues

What do you value as a team member at Perficient?

I am grateful to work at a company that prioritizes work-life balance and fosters a culture of appreciation for colleague contributions. The ability to maintain a healthy equilibrium between work and personal life is extremely important to me.

Moreover, being part of a team that consistently acknowledges and values the efforts of each colleague has cultivated a supportive and collaborative work environment that I enjoy.

READ MORE: Perficient’s Global Culture Cultivates Collaboration and Meaningful Connection

What made you decide to work for Perficient? What makes you stay and want to do your best work?

In all honesty, I ended up at Perficient serendipitously. I was working through a temp agency and was sent to Perficient as a file clerk back when we had an office in Austin, Texas. The assignment was only for six weeks, but after the initial timeframe, I stayed on and was eventually hired. I left the company but returned about a year and a half later. I stayed because I like the culture fostered at Perficient and I have always been treated with professional respect, even when I was just a temporary file clerk.

READ MORE: The Culture and Colleague Experience at Perficient

Healthcare and life sciences organizations are increasingly focused on equity. How are you seeing DE&I addressed in your work and in the industry?

Many of my colleagues are doing great work addressing DEI with our customers! They are utilizing their industry and technical expertise to build inclusive care pathways, messaging strategies, and digital transformation initiatives for our clients.

In addition, I have been thrilled to see Perficient’s Bright Paths Program unfold. I look forward to our company’s continued success in bringing STEM opportunities to underrepresented groups and collaborating with current and future Bright Paths graduates at Perficient.

READ MORE: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Healthcare  

Healthcare Leaders Turn to Us

Our healthcare experts  understand the unique challenges facing the industry. The 10 largest health systems and 10 largest health insurers in the U.S. have counted on us to support their end-to-end digital success. Modern Healthcare has also recognized us as the fifth-largest healthcare IT consulting firm.

We bring pragmatic, strategically-grounded know-how to our clients’ initiatives. And our work gets attention – not only by industry groups that recognize and award our work but also by top technology partners that know our teams will reliably deliver complex, game-changing implementations. Most importantly, our clients demonstrate their trust in us by partnering with us again and again. We are incredibly proud of our 90% repeat business rate because it represents the trust and collaborative culture that we work so hard to build every day within our teams and with every client.

With more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, Perficient is a trusted, end-to-end, global digital consultancy.

SEE MORE PEOPLE OF PERFICIENT

It’s no secret our success is because of our people. No matter the technology or time zone, our colleagues are committed to delivering innovative, end-to-end digital solutions for the world’s biggest brands, and we bring a collaborative spirit to every interaction. We’re always seeking the best and brightest to work with us. Join our team and experience a culture that challenges, champions, and celebrates our people.

Visit our Careers page to see career opportunities and more!

Go inside Life at Perficient and connect with us on LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

In the post-pandemic environment, consumers are expecting a more personalized experience. The pandemic exposed long-term, unresolved health disparities, triggering self-reflection across industries (especially in healthcare) to make diversity, equity, and inclusion a priority.

Our client wanted to take a proactive approach to ensure that marginalized groups were being reached adequately and equitably by its virtual care services. So, we partnered with the health system to develop a strategy, analysis, and new digital approach to make its future-state experience more inclusive for all its patients and their loved ones.

LEARN MORE: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) in Healthcare

Repairing Health Disparities Means Better Care for All

We performed comparative analyses and incorporated inclusive content, navigation, and terminology throughout the client’s website. To make the Find-a-Doctor experience more equitable, we added LGBTQ+ clinical subspecialty tags to its provider search filter to help patients readily identify experienced allies. 

This inclusive functionality, resulted in:

• A 312% increase in appointment requests
• A 425% increase in open scheduling
• a 7,000% increase in provider searches that included “LGBTQ”

This new digital approach organically navigates users to the diverse and personalized content that they expect based on analysis-driven best practices.

A well-planned and executed strategy for addressing equity, diversity, and inclusion creates a healthier and more welcoming environment for team members to build patient trust, elevate consumer satisfaction, drive higher-quality care, and reduce health disparities.

READ THE FULL SUCCESS STORY: A Digital Approach to Addressing Health Equity

Digital Experience Solutions

With Perficient’s expertise in healthcare and customer experience solutions, we equipped a leading health system with a solution that reimagined the patient experience with diversity, equity, and inclusion in mind.

Have questions? We help healthcare organizations navigate healthcare strategy and transformation, data and analytics, and solution integration and implementation. Contact us today, and let’s discuss your specific needs and goals.

Douglas Stewart, principal of healthcare and life sciences, is utilizing his 20 years of healthcare experience to offer our clients the best solutions to their most complex challenges. We recently connected to discuss how he came to join the Perficient team. I loved hearing more about his background in the healthcare space and what he values most about Perficient’s company culture. I’m sure you will too!

Thank you for joining me today, Doug! I’d love to kick off with hearing more about your background in the healthcare industry and your current role at Perficient. 

Douglas with his family

I started my career in information technology as a programmer, back when Google was new, and Amazon sold books. That led to an opportunity in New York City working in the healthcare and life sciences industries.

Subsequently, I took a role leading projects and systems for the largest health plan in New Jersey. My focus shifted toward the intersection between technology and business outcomes, where I supported organizations in defining goal-oriented needs.

I’ve been responsible for hundreds of work efforts in the payer space. I’ve been the buyer on many occasions. Now I’m using that background to help provide the best solutions based on payer needs to develop deeper client relationships.

My role involves working with sales teams, marketing teams, clients, other principals, and industry analysts to grow our healthcare and life sciences practice. An average day in this role varies based on what’s happening in the industry and what is most important and relevant to our customers. Typically, a day is about:

• One-third ensuring that our offerings address market needs
• One-third understanding problems and explaining how we have solved them, successfully
• One-third thinking about the future to make sure we stay ahead of changes and develop practical solutions

I’m frequently called on to participate in client proposals because of my background. In those circumstances, I shift my complete focus to communicating the best solutions for our clients’ needs.

LEARN MORE: Healthcare Digital Consulting Services

What do you most enjoy about your role and about working at our global digital consultancy?

The people that I work with at Perficient make it a place that’s very enjoyable to work. This company has managed to collect a critical mass of genuine, helpful people who are really interested in solving problems. In my experience, Perficient is a place where people can be authentic and make a difference in a number of ways.

I’ve been involved with many teams throughout my career, and this is the most talented team I’ve been a part of. 

We have conversations about how to preserve our culture as we grow, which tells you a lot about our company.

I think we all value the culture here, and we should do everything in our power to embody it, preserve it, and include our clients in it.

READ MORE: Perficient Giving, Employee Resource Group

What drew you to a career at Perficient? And what motivates you to stay and do your best work?

As I met with leaders at Perficient during my job search, I was truly impressed by the caliber and number of dedicated experts concentrated in a single organization. Since joining the company, I’ve continued to be impressed with the talent pool at Perficient.

My colleagues are passionate about their industry, have innovative perspectives on how to solve problems, and are eager to collaborate to get things done and make exciting things happen. The enthusiasm is contagious!

I’m applying my 20 years of healthcare experience to help clients define their needs.

The people I work with motivate me. I appreciate the people who were involved in the decision to bring me on board last year and the large group of talented people who are looking for their next assignment. Every week I speak with folks that have done really great work to solve common problems. If we can show clients how we can do the same for them – we’ll win.

We’re all really fortunate to be a part of Perficient right now as we grow and align our technical expertise to healthcare and life sciences.  The amount of money spent on healthcare continues to grow exponentially along with our business here, but the health outcomes are getting worse. We can help fix that. Anywhere you have really complex issues to solve and lots of spending, there’s a great market for industry focused technology consulting.

Large, highly regulated, and complex problems are difficult to solve, and there’s an enormous amount of money at stake. Businesses need help, and that’s where we come in. Our clients need to address these problems head on. They are especially interested in practical solutions and stories about how other organizations solved relevant problems. Right now, we’re seeing a significant shift towards:

• Consumerism
• Accurate and modernized clinical platforms
• How Artificial Intelligence will change the ways we work

We are right in the middle of the action, and that’s the perfect place to be.

LEARN MORE: Culture and Connections

How are you seeing DE&I addressed in your work and in the industry? How are you seeing the prioritization of health equity impact the industry and the clients you serve, and how are we approaching our healthcare work through an equity lens?

Professionally, I look at this from a healthcare management perspective. There is a lot of evidence that certain populations need more personalized attention to improve health outcomes. I also can’t help but view this issue from a personal perspective, having a racially diverse household.

I’d like to think that the prioritization of health equity creates passion and opportunity to become more invested in what’s possible.

In the United States, the health equity conversation has happened primarily through the lens of studying social determinants of health, which try to identify why certain population segments have health outcomes that are worse than others (i.e., infant mortality rates and maternity care).

In the life sciences industry, it’s more complex due to the breadth of global organization. It seems, however, like a large focus right now is creating accurate clinical data and ensuring clinical trial diversity requirements. To me, it’s about smarter ways to get products to market quickly while making sure everyone has equal access to those products.

Perficient has major engagements that align directly to these goals, and help drive better health for everyone, especially those who need it the most.

EXPLORE NOW: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) in Healthcare

Healthcare Leaders Turn to Us

Our healthcare experts  understand the unique challenges facing the industry. The 10 largest health systems and 10 largest health insurers in the U.S. have counted on us to support their end-to-end digital success. Modern Healthcare has also recognized us as the fifth-largest healthcare IT consulting firm.

We bring pragmatic, strategically-grounded know-how to our clients’ initiatives. And our work gets attention – not only by industry groups that recognize and award our work but also by top technology partners that know our teams will reliably deliver complex, game-changing implementations. Most importantly, our clients demonstrate their trust in us by partnering with us again and again. We are incredibly proud of our 90% repeat business rate because it represents the trust and collaborative culture that we work so hard to build everyday within our teams and with every client.

With more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, Perficient is a trusted, end-to-end, global digital consultancy.

SEE MORE PEOPLE OF PERFICIENT

With robust industry expertise, our healthcare team achieves excellence in transforming how the world’s biggest brands connect with consumers and grow their businesses. I recently sat down with one of these experts. Marybeth Wrabel is a lead of payer strategy at Perficient who applies her 20 years of expertise in the payer industry to deliver excellence for our clients.

Marybeth, thank you for joining me today. I’d love to kick off with hearing more about your background in the payer industry. 

Marybeth Wrabel | Payer Specialist

I’m a tenured marketer and digital product management leader with 20 years of experience working for national and international payers. When I was in my mid-twenties, early in my career, a marketing leader saw my potential. She would continuously encourage me to lead initiatives that would put me in a position to grow. I developed confidence in my ability to navigate completely new and uncomfortable situations. I built my career by following through on promises and going above and beyond for my constituents.

My colleagues quickly began referring to me as a subject matter expert in various aspects of the payer business. 

During my career in the payer space, I got the opportunity to lead a global team of Marketers. I ensured I was able to make genuine connections with each of them and bring them together as a team. I developed a program to motivate them to think more strategically in their daily work. They built a better brand through strategic thinking and growing capabilities within their respective regions. One of them told me, “We live all around the world, but you never make us feel that way.”

More recently, I led a cross functional group of Agile product owners and their respective peers across digital, analytics, marketing and segmentation. I was responsible for strategy and delivery. That team is one of the best I’ve ever been a part of. Through mutual trust and strong communication, we helped each other grow in areas where we didn’t have extensive expertise. I helped many in the data and analytics group to learn the payer business, and I learned a lot more about data, technology and delivery.

EXPLORE NOW: Marybeth Wrabel, Author at Perficient Blogs

How did you come to work for Perficient? What makes you stay and want to do your best work? 

I got an offer from a payer an hour before Perficient made its offer. I chose Perficient for the variety of work and opportunity to grow in my career. The ability to learn continuously is important to me. Additionally, I will have the opportunity to work in provider and medical technology as our clients think strategically about breaking down silos. From the consumers perspective, the healthcare experience is connected. They don’t see the silos that businesses create for themselves. Healthcare consumers do not think of payers without thinking of providers, and they do not pursue the medical technology they need without thinking of how a payer can help them attain it.

Describe your current role at Perficient. How are you applying your experience with payers to serve our clients? 
Today, my role as a payer specialist within Perficient’s healthcare practice gives me an opportunity to help guide sales opportunities and support clients with strategy and delivery. Payers have so many constituents to serve. The strategies, experiences, and messages for each constituent group is truly unique if you expect to earn their engagement. The company culture at Perficient is one of openness, collaboration, and respect. I enjoy working on cross-functional strategic teams. There is mutual respect for different backgrounds, strengths, and contributions.

After spending nearly my entire career with payers, I have developed a perspective on many aspects of their business.

Payers have much potential to engage with their constituents in new and improving ways.

Achieving this engagement is determined by a payer’s strategic goals and appetite for change. It’s fascinating to see payers and providers around the country shift to integrated delivery models. This shows that there is a desire to control the entire experience for members from service to payment. This is also an attempt to control costs for highly engaged populations. There is great opportunity to help payers improve member experiences in this area.

EXPLORE NOW: Empowering our People: A Culture of Collaboration

After decades of experience in the payer industry, what continues to excite you about your role?

I value the variety of the challenges that we solve for our clients, at every stage from pre-sales to delivery. Working for payers, I would focus exclusively on the challenges directly impacting my segments and constituents. In my role at Perficient, I get the opportunity to apply my expertise more broadly. On my team, I value the different perspectives and deep expertise my colleagues apply to their work.

After two decades at payer companies, I’m pleased that I am able to utilize my experience to help my company and my clients grow. It’s common to see people with a long tenure at payers. Because of this, actively introducing new ideas is valuable. I enjoy listening to what my talented colleagues have to say while brainstorming solutions.

How are you seeing the shifting focus onto the quintuple aim affect the payer industry and the clients you serve?
I’m proud to work with clients that are forerunners in health equity. These organizations strive to help bridge the gap of systemic health inequity and racial injustice. They have freely shared their findings and challenges obtaining self-reported race and ethnic data, assessing its accuracy from other sources, and even designing a program that meets high validity and reliability standards.

If payers and providers are striving to improve health outcomes, it can’t just address the health outcomes of specific groups. It has to include everyone.

LEARN MORE: The Emergence of the Quintuple Aim

Healthcare Leaders Turn to Us

Our healthcare experts  understand the unique challenges facing the industry. The 10 largest health systems and 10 largest health insurers in the U.S. have counted on us to support their end-to-end digital success. Modern Healthcare has also recognized us as the fourth largest healthcare IT consulting firm.

We bring pragmatic, strategically-grounded know-how to our clients’ initiatives. And our work gets attention – not only by industry groups that recognize and award our work but also by top technology partners that know our teams will reliably deliver complex, game-changing implementations. Most importantly, our clients demonstrate their trust in us by partnering with us again and again. We are incredibly proud of our 90% repeat business rate because it represents the trust and collaborative culture that we work so hard to build every day within our teams and with every client.

With more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, Perficient is a trusted, end-to-end, global digital consultancy.

SEE MORE PEOPLE OF PERFICIENT

I recently connected with Iyappan Rathina, a delivery director at Perficient, to discuss the benefits of global collaboration, and how that collaboration contributes to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) in healthcare. We discussed how an increased demand for digital transformation in the healthcare industry is supporting a better patient experience. I enjoyed hearing his perspective on how DE&I in healthcare delivers better health outcomes, and I’m sure you will too!

Iyappan, thanks so much for joining me today. I’d love to start with hearing more about your role. How do you enable a growth mindset on your teams?

Iyappan Rathina, Delivery Director

I am a delivery director at Perficient based in Chennai, India. As a delivery director, I govern projects and delivery. I am also the head of infrastructure and facilities for the India global delivery center, managing seven centers across five different locations.

As a delivery director, I help my teams foster the culture of Perficient. Because of our shared culture, my teams exceed our clients’ expectations and are able to grow with Perficient. I enable my teams to achieve this growth by:

• Facilitating collaboration across multiple geographies, ensuring that everyone gets the support they need
• Exposing them to opportunities as they arise
• Preparing them for their next role

As the head of infrastructure, I am responsible for ensuring that our colleagues experience world-class facilities that are positioned to delight our clients.

SEE ALSO: Driving DE&I In Healthcare With Global Collaboration: Insights from Latin America

How is Perficient – as a global team – driving excellence for our clients?

As a global team, we are able to leverage people’s unique and complementary strengths. Because of this, we have a stronger team. Diverse global teams also allow us to share diverse perspectives and broader experience with our clients.

Diversity equips Perficient with the right people, the right strengths, and the right toolsets to uphold exceptional delivery standards and exceed the customer expectations.

Why is it valuable for organizations to promote diversity through global teams? 

With a global team of people from different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences, organizations can leverage diverse perspectives. These help teams arrive at more innovative solutions to common problems. Diverse global teams foster a culture of belonging and trust. These teams are well equipped to question themselves on their own assumptions. Therefore, having diversity in the teams allows for the following:

• Decreasing unconscious bias
• Reducing skill gaps
• Building highly skilled talent
• Removing cultural mismatches

All of this enables Perficient to outperform homogenous teams and build better value for our clients.

READ MORE: A Tide That Lifts All Boats: Overcoming Inequity in Digital Health

How is Perficient’s collaboration across the globe promoting DE&I in the healthcare industry? Why is this important? How does it impact the broader patient experience?

People from every race, culture, creed, age, and gender utilize healthcare. Patients see better health outcomes when they are able to trust their provider. Research has shown that patients are more likely to trust healthcare providers where they see themselves represented. This leads to a better understanding of their health condition and, ideally, more successful treatment. So, diversity in healthcare enables a better patient experience and drives better health outcomes.

Perficient’s collaboration across the globe has built an inclusive team that brings global perspectives and innovative ideas.

We share strategies that have succeeded locally, to be replicated by teams in other areas. We are also able to share the challenges we’ve faced locally in the adoption of digital care, so that we can implement solutions to avoid the same hurdles in other areas.

Global teams bring experiences from different cultures and diverse perspectives on the impact of equity and inclusion in healthcare. Various initiatives at Perficient such as our Women in Technology employee resource group (ERG), our Bright Paths Program, and our global delivery centers allow us to foster more diverse teams. This in turn, allows us to offer our customers well rounded, global experience in healthcare.

EXPLORE NOW: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) in Healthcare

Healthcare Leaders Turn to Us

Perficient is dedicated to enabling healthcare and life sciences organizations to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within their companies. Our healthcare practice is comprised of experts who understand the unique challenges facing the industry. The 10 largest health systems and 10 largest health insurers in the U.S. have counted on us to support their end-to-end digital success. Modern Healthcare has also recognized us as the fifth-largest healthcare IT consulting firm. With more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, Perficient is a trusted, end-to-end, global digital consultancy.

We bring pragmatic, strategically-grounded know-how to our clients’ initiatives. And our work gets attention – not only by industry groups that recognize and award our work but also by top technology partners that know our teams will reliably deliver complex, game-changing implementations. Most importantly, our clients demonstrate their trust in us by partnering with us again and again. We are incredibly proud of our 90% repeat business rate because it represents the trust and collaborative culture that we work so hard to build every day within our teams and with every client.

Contact us to learn how we can help you plan and implement a successful DE&I initiative for your organization.

Perficient is a global digital consultancy transforming how the world’s biggest brands connect with customers and grow their business. With Perficient, you get experience and expertise, speed and agility, and a healthy dose of pragmatism to drive your business forward. I recently got the pleasure of sitting down with Marlana Voerster, senior healthcare strategist, to discuss how her role supports this mission. Along the way, I learned what makes Perficient’s culture special and what Marlana values most about her team.

Thanks for joining me today, Marlana! Could you tell me more about your role at our digital consultancy?  

Marlana’s work-from-home office mates caught napping on the job.

As a senior healthcare strategist, my role is multifaceted, and that’s one of the aspects I love most about my job.

My focus is helping organizations understand their audiences and create enhanced healthcare consumer experiences.

But that can take many different forms, including:

• Market research and consumer interviews
• The development of personas and journey maps
• Creating omni-channel strategies that help drive conversions and build loyalty

We tailor everything we do to the client and the needs of their audiences. Therefore, no two projects are ever the same.

The work I do every day ties right into Perficient’s mission to transform how organizations connect with customers and grow their business. The patient experience can be uncertain, stressful, and scary. Helping healthcare organizations create deeper relationships with their audiences can take some of that uncertainty and stress out of the patient’s journey. The industry has come a long way, but there is much more opportunity to make pathways to care more seamless. I am very proud to be a part of that transformation.

READ MORE FROM MARLANA: Marlana Voerster, Author at Perficient Blogs

What do you most enjoy about your role and about working at Perficient?

In my role, I have tremendous freedom to explore projects. There is no one-size-fits all structure that we must adhere to as strategists. This means that we can put our detective hats on and go down the odd rabbit hole that we know will unearth valuable insights. My favorite part of my job is uncovering those little nuances that create big ‘a-ha’ moments!

The healthcare consumer experience team at Perficient is second to none! I know I’m biased, but I work with an incredibly smart, creative, and passionate group of people. Our backgrounds are diverse, which means that we are constantly learning from one another. We’re always happy to jump on a brainstorm call to lend our expertise to another colleague’s project. I learn something new every day and have a great time doing it.

My favorite part of Perficient is the culture. We seem to attract people who love what they do and are very good at it.

I often work on projects with other teams, such as commerce or management consulting. Each time I do, I feel valued for what I bring to the project, and I learn a lot from my colleagues. I am proud of the work we do together. It’s a team atmosphere, and I love working with people who share that spirit.

LEARN MORE: About our Promise to Challenge, Champion, and Celebrate our People

What drew you to a career at Perficient? And what motivates you to stay and do your best work?

In my case, I worked with a Perficient colleague at a past job, and always wanted to have an opportunity to work with her again. I had been itching to get back to consulting work, and I knew that she had a great team and an open position. Long story short, the stars aligned. It’s always nerve-racking to move to a new employer, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity that Perficient represented. I’m now a year and a half in, and I’m still thrilled with my choice.

Why are diversity and inclusion important to our culture at Perficient and in the healthcare industry? 

Diversity & inclusion is important to Perficient, as it is to all organizations. Without diverse voices and a focus on inclusion, our work runs the risk of having blind spots, leaving groups behind, and creating more inequity. This is particularly important in healthcare. It’s hard to think of anything more important than one’s health.

Creating care pathways that all people can access, regardless of their color, economic background, first language, sexual orientation, etc. can only truly be accomplished through representation and collaboration.

READ MORE: DEI in Healthcare

Healthcare Leaders Turn to Us

Our healthcare practice is comprised of experts who understand the unique challenges facing the industry. The 10 largest health systems and 10 largest health insurers in the U.S. have counted on us to support their end-to-end digital success. Modern Healthcare has also recognized us as the fifth-largest healthcare IT consulting firm.

We bring pragmatic, strategically-grounded know-how to our clients’ initiatives. And our work gets attention – not only by industry groups that recognize and award our work but also by top technology partners that know our teams will reliably deliver complex, game-changing implementations. Most importantly, our clients demonstrate their trust in us by partnering with us again and again. We are incredibly proud of our 90% repeat business rate because it represents the trust and collaborative culture that we work so hard to build everyday within our teams and with every client.

With more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, Perficient is a trusted, end-to-end, global digital consultancy.

SEE MORE PEOPLE OF PERFICIENT

Perficient transforms how the world’s leading enterprises and biggest brands connect with customers and grow their businesses. I recently sat down with Kayla Brown, a solutions architect at Perficient, to learn how she promotes this transformation in healthcare. We also discussed what she values most about her job, and why she loves her team.

Kayla, Thanks for joining me today. I’d love to start with hearing more about the day-to-day functions of your role as a solutions architect. How do you impact healthcare clients? 

I work with clients to help set the overarching vision for their digital ecosystem. This is often related to their public-facing website but could also include their portal, content strategy, visual design, marketing automation platform, or some combination of those tools. I also work with clients to expand their audience’s knowledge and interaction with the digital brand.

Because I work exclusively with healthcare clients, we work to understand a consumer-centric approach within the context of a care journey, which can be intensely emotional and sensitive.

We couple consumer motivations with business and growth objectives to build an impactful future state from an internal and external perspective. A lot of my day-to-day work involves taking in client’s inputs from a variety of areas of their business and consumers; synthesizing and pulling out relevant themes as they relate to their consumer audience and helping articulate those in a clear and focused way to be leveraged in design and implementation of a given digital platform.

READ MORE: Healthcare Digital Consulting Services

What do you value most about your role, your team, and your company?

• 

  Kayla spending time with her niece and nephew

  In my role: I love being able to take apart complex digital initiatives and find an approachable path to success – which looks very different for different clients.

• My team: is constantly pushing healthcare organizations to transform their businesses by empowering digital, marketing, and operational teams to advocate for business growth and transform consumer experiences.
• At Perficient: I value the breadth and depth of expertise and solutions. I am consistently amazed at the level of knowledge Perficient possesses across technologies and strategic objectives.

Perficient is an ecosystem where the sky is the limit – you are allowed to push yourself to deliver exceptionally and retain your relationships with clients far past the initial project.

EXPLORE NOW: Empowering Our People

What made you decide to work for Perficient? What makes you stay and want to do your best work at Perficient?

Perficient acquired my company at the very beginning of the pandemic. What keeps me at Perficient is my desire to impact change. I see tremendous growth within our practice. Working with clients to develop compressive cross-department client relationships, truly impacts measurable change.

I have an incredibly intelligent collective of colleagues who collaborate, and deliver at an incredibly high caliber, and my leaders support innovation, critical thinking, and a growth mindset.

What do diversity and inclusion mean to you, and how does this play a role in your work at Perficient? 

In my own life, it is about alleviating barriers and advocating for those who battle bias. I challenge myself to promote representative diversity. I try to always analyze situations, keeping in mind how audiences without my own privilege would approach it.

With clients, the work we do with personas and journey maps highlights the difference between the approach to care and the consumer’s decision-making process. This includes thoroughly considering how the following factors could affect the language or messaging that needs to be used:

• Level of access to healthcare
• Insurance type
• First language
• Preferred pronouns
• Sexual orientation

We also think through the user experience by providing clear and unified pathways for those who might need to consume the digital presence in a different format (e.g. keyboard alternation, language translation, screen reader, etc.).

LEARN MORE: Healthcare Personas & Journey Maps Jumpstart

Healthcare Leaders Turn to Us

Our healthcare practice is comprised of experts who understand the unique challenges facing the industry. The 10 largest health systems and 10 largest health insurers in the U.S. have counted on us to support their end-to-end digital success. Modern Healthcare has also recognized us as the fourth largest healthcare IT consulting firm.

We bring pragmatic, strategically-grounded know-how to our clients’ initiatives. And our work gets attention – not only by industry groups that recognize and award our work but also by top technology partners that know our teams will reliably deliver complex, game-changing implementations. Most importantly, our clients demonstrate their trust in us by partnering with us again and again. We are incredibly proud of our 90% repeat business rate because it represents the trust and collaborative culture that we work so hard to build every day within our teams and with every client.

With more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, Perficient is a trusted, end-to-end, global digital consultancy.

SEE MORE PEOPLE OF PERFICIENT

I recently connected with one of our colleagues in Latin America (LatAm) to discuss how she participates in global collaboration, and how that collaboration supports diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) in the healthcare industry. Laura Catalina Navarro Rodriguez, an account manager at Perficient, facilitates a culture of collaboration and strong communication across global teams. I enjoyed hearing about how she has seen projects support accessibility in healthcare, and I’m sure you will too!

Thank you so much for joining me today, Laura! I’d love to kick off with hearing more about your role. How does your work impact Perficient’s culture, growth, and clients? 

Laura Catalina Navarro Rodriguez, Account Manager

I define my role as being the “synapse between neurons” to facilitate and promote communication between Perficient teams and clients to strengthen our position as a global company. The objective of my role is to collaborate, build, and maintain a robust relationship with each partner, client, and account stakeholder, ensuring multiple points of contact and staying especially attuned to individual and business needs. I work closely with partners, clients, and stakeholders to:  

• Clearly define business needs 
• Create winning and innovative strategies 
• Coordinate with global operations and capacity teams to ensure maximum business value for our clients  
• Support our LatAm teams in their efforts to deliver the highest quality services 

 How is Perficient – as a global team – driving excellence for our clients?  

Perficient’s main excellence-driving factor is our people. We have strong technical talent, with senior level roles represented in all of our global delivery centers.   

Most importantly, our people are accountable, vocal, caring, and driven to deliver high-quality solutions and exceed client expectations.  

We have a strong unity mindset. We are part of a global team, and despite our differences in location, culture, beliefs, collaboration styles, and in some cases language (or slang), we belong to the same united team – global delivery. We are a fully diverse team working for the same purpose: to deliver excellence.  

We drive excellence by ensuring that we involve the right experts at the right time. We all have the same opportunities to participate, propose, challenge, and explore. Being respectful of differences and utilizing each person’s unique skills to their fullest potential gives us the ability to implement the best solutions successfully.  

Why is it valuable for organizations to promote diversity through global teams, and within global teams? 

Diversity is a part of the human experience.  While working with a diverse group of people, we cannot take a “one-size-fits-all” approach. This is why our people are the most important factor in delivering excellence. If we ignore our differences (language, culture, time zone, motivation, and ability), the spark in our highly motivated team will fade.  

Working with teams across the globe, we can utilize strengths from every team. When working on a proposal, in most cases, the best recipe for success involves utilizing a blended team. For example, a blended team may be the best option when a client needs a specific skill set best represented in one part of the world, but also must meet a formal requirement, such as having a team in their time zone. Within blended teams, the key to success is communication. The team must have strong communication to stay aligned on delivery needs.  

In LatAm we have a saying that goes “two heads think more than one.” Understanding that we all think differently helps us communicate successfully while working in a diverse team. All ideas should be listened to and considered. The LatAm delivery center is now a compound of five different countries, each country with several offices. There is a whole lot of variety in ways of thinking and skillsets, and there is a lot of potential. So, promoting a culture of openness, unity, and strong communication helps us feel included and work together equitably.  

Digital transformations can either help healthcare organizations achieve greater equity or inadvertently exacerbate it, so it’s important that we approach our healthcare work through an equity lens. How are you seeing Perficient’s collaboration across the globe help deliver projects through this lens? 

As end-to-end partners to our healthcare clients, it is important that we:   

• Foster collaboration and inclusion with our global delivery centers, with the common goal of achieving excellence for our clients 
• Utilize blended teams, giving everyone the opportunity to participate in the construction of solutions 
• Fully understand and address the client’s needs 

Healthcare organizations in the US are increasingly focused on equity in healthcare. Our work can create a huge impact to society, especially in the healthcare industry. Utilizing virtual health and other technologies, we are seeking to make the most effective tools available at the right time and place and with appropriate support for every patient to improve access to care. 

Through a partnership with one of the top digital health cloud platforms for Software as a Medical Device in the US, we’ve collaborated to improve the patient experience by enabling healthcare and life sciences organizations to better understand and address consumers’ needs.

READ MORE: A Tide That Lifts All Boats: Overcoming Inequity in Digital Health

See Success in Action: Improving one of the largest health providers in Colombia’s digital experience 

Here’s an example of a project we delivered through an equity lens. Our payer client partnered with us to improve their digital platforms.

The Colombian healthcare system is divided into two types of payers:

• subsidized, insures people with lower income
• contributory, insures the people that can afford a monthly payment

We helped this client ease the process for enrollment, login, change logs, and information updates, reducing the amount of time invested from the payer and the paperwork needed. This resulted in higher coverage of people accessing the healthcare system. It also provided more efficient service for people already covered by subsidized or contributory payers. We also added the ability to enroll over the phone, expanding accessibility to people without internet access. 

EXPLORE NOW: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) in Healthcare

Healthcare Leaders Turn to Us

Perficient is dedicated to enabling healthcare and life sciences organizations to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within their companies. Our healthcare practice is comprised of experts who understand the unique challenges facing the industry. The 10 largest health systems and 10 largest health insurers in the U.S. have counted on us to support their end-to-end digital success. Modern Healthcare has also recognized us as the fourth largest healthcare IT consulting firm. With more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, Perficient is a trusted, end-to-end, global digital consultancy.

We bring pragmatic, strategically-grounded know-how to our clients’ initiatives. And our work gets attention – not only by industry groups that recognize and award our work but also by top technology partners that know our teams will reliably deliver complex, game-changing implementations. Most importantly, our clients demonstrate their trust in us by partnering with us again and again. We are incredibly proud of our 90% repeat business rate because it represents the trust and collaborative culture that we work so hard to build every day within our teams and with every client.

Contact us to learn how we can help you plan and implement a successful DE&I initiative for your organization.