wealtha digital health startup that offers small financial rewards for completing health-related tasks, recently hired former Sanford Health Plan CEO John Snyder as its new chief operating officer. announced that he had been appointed.
Snyder sat with Mobi Health News We discuss how his experience influences his decisions about overseeing company operations and where and how he thinks Wealth can expand its services.
Mobi Health News: Please tell our readers about your new role at Wellth.
John Snyder: I’m the chief operating officer, so I’m actually responsible for all the operations. Make sure things are running efficiently and effectively. Work well with your clients and make sure you are providing them with the information they need in your submission. We provide data and are responsible for human resources, human resources management, etc. So, as you can imagine, the chief operating officer is responsible for, you know, everything running.
MHN: How does your experience at Sanford influence how you support Wealth?
Snyder: So I have more experience in healthcare leadership alone than I’d like to admit, probably close to 40 years, primarily on the C-suite side, on the provider side and chief operating officers of major corporations. Ta. System – He went on to serve as CEO of two health plans.
So, obviously, I think the depth and breadth of experience from an operations perspective helps us make sure we’re operating as efficiently as possible. The advantage of coming from the health plan side is that I am the customer and know the health plan very well. Now, when we think at Wealth, we not only think about them as customers, but also how they think, how they operate, how we can better support them, how they interact with health plans. Will you go? I’m in a good position to do that.
MHN: What stands out to you about this company in terms of being able to make a difference in the digital health space, and how does the use of AI help Wellth stand out?
Snyder: What struck me was, again, as a customer, I often told my team that I wanted them to run as many digital enablers (as I like to call them) as possible. Because I think digital enablers are really the future. You will be able to manage risk as needed.
When I say risk management, that’s what health plans do. They will hopefully keep you healthy, keep you out of the hospital, and keep you out of the doctor’s office inappropriately. Sometimes it’s clearly appropriate. And the more you can interact with your members and change their behavior, the more chance you have for success.
And while there are a lot of digital apps that can be helpful just by pushing them out to people as reminders, they don’t necessarily move the dial, as we saw Wealth move the dial on, but using financial behavior modification. That really works. I saw it work in Sanford. This data is very convincing in that it not only engages people 2x or 3x more than most digital apps, but it also probably has even higher retention rates.
You think about people who are frequently hospitalized with serious problems. Unfortunately, they are already at such high risk and all you can do is try to ensure that they are included in the appropriate continuum of care. But there’s a large group in between that is exposed to risk, and if you can use tools like this to manage that risk and prevent them from getting to the other side, that’s a real game changer. – Not just for health planning from an economic standpoint, but more importantly, to maintain the health of our members and patients.
MHN: How do you ensure your wealth remains sustainable in the digital health space as many companies run out of investment runway or are acquired by more prominent companies? In this volatile digital health market How do you ensure your company’s prosperity?
Snyder: Again, I’m from that role and I know the pain points. The answer is that we need to reduce the pain points as much as possible. One of them is an amazing lift to do these things.
All of this is just an incredible technological advancement, just making sure the data is sent correctly, read correctly, and in the right fields. I think Wealth does a really good job of simplifying it in a way that’s very different than others.
And when you think about these digital applications, I think a lot of times companies are looking at health insurance. Who do you want to sign up for this app, if you want them to sign up, or whatever the application is, and Wellth does the opposite. Please provide data. We’ll tell you who we know will give you the greatest ROI, the greatest benefit for you, and even the greatest benefit for your members.
The only other difference is the app. It attracts people. people are interested. Part of our unique secret sauce is how to get people active, how to actually get them to call and sign up for your app, and how to help them install your app and understand how to use it. Here’s how to do it. Often people just don’t receive that kind of touch, if at all, but it makes a big difference.
So I think all of those things need to come together and those are the things that help make it work. We just need to take advantage of those things and get better at them.
I think it’s an ever-evolving market, so to speak, what other people are doing. And I think we need to have a good understanding of what others are doing and be sure to do it better.
MHN: You probably joined the company because you admired their business model, but do you have ideas on how to improve it?
Snyder: Yes, that’s a great question. As you know, I’m a newbie, so I already asked some questions.
It’s a great platform, but it’s also a platform that can be used for many other things and many other areas of business. So when we think about the future, we think about how we use that underlying platform. How can we take that foundation that works so well and apply it to other areas?
Our focus is on the health of mothers and children. Is there an application out there? There’s probably something we can do there. Continuity of care, gaps in care.
Again, I hope I can help you with that as we become more mature and develop the product. I have a background in medical planning, but I also have a fairly significant healthcare background in hospital and clinic settings. So think about different locations, different markets, different lines of business.
