In the HBS Health Care Initiative, we are constantly impressed by the impact alumni have in health care. When we have the opportunity to meet up with an alum at an industry conference or educational panel, we enjoy learning more about what motivates them. We try to uncover a bit about why they do what they do, what they got out of HBS, and what advice they may have for current and future students.
Recently, I had the chance to sit down with Lindsay Jurist-Rosner, MBA 2009. She is the CEO of Wellthy which is a company that takes a concierge approach to care management when working with the sick and elderly. Lindsay shared the following insight:
“The biggest need in healthcare is a much improved consumer experience. 80 million Americans now live with two or more chronic conditions, and yet the health care system has remained siloed and disease-focused. Families are forced to cobble together fragmented providers and solutions while dealing with emotionally and physically demanding health situations.
“My goal and our team's mission at Wellthy is to provide support and relief for families with complex, chronic, and ongoing care needs. The background of the business is based on a personal experience with my mom. I spent nearly 30 years feeling overwhelmed and stressed trying to help my mom and my family. And yet there are 66 million people just like me.
“Our team uses best practices from other industries and we are customer obsessed. We focus on solving problems for families first and foremost, rather than focusing on fixing health care industry bottlenecks. We build iteratively so that we can test and learn as we go.
“Opportunities are everywhere. MBAs can start companies, join an organization, partner with doctors and hospitals, and so much more. There are huge opportunities to think differently, boldly, and creatively about health care. MBAs acquire a great toolset in school--the ability to understand historical trends, economic drivers, customer segmentation, and more. We can create the much better health care experience that we need and want for ourselves and our own families.”