CX transformation in less than a year: Q&A with Mike Serbinis

What does it take to deliver truly personal consumer experiences in healthcare? The answer: digital platforms supported by an ecosystem of innovative partners and technologies. And while healthcare has been dominated by disparate point solutions and data sources in the first wave of digital implementation, the industry is now moving into a transformational second wave built atop platforms. 

The newly announced collaboration between League, Google Cloud and Highmark Health, in fact, illustrates the power of digital healthcare platforms to lay the foundation for a new era of CX and transform member experiences. In less than a year from their initial discussions, Highmark Health is rolling out My Highmark, the next-generation digital front door built on League and Google Cloud. 

I interviewed League CEO and Founder Michael Serbinis about the new era of ‘care, cloud and CX,’ what the proven in-market model My Highmark means for other health plans and health systems and what executives should expect in the second wave of digital transformation.  

Q: What is the vision for CX transformation that League, Google Cloud and Highmark Health share?

A: The three of us met less than a year ago. Up until that point, Google had been working with healthcare organizations to move to the cloud. We presented the CX layer that interfaces with the consumer to make data actionable. We found a real win-win by working together to create a reference architecture organizations can use to accelerate CX transformation. 

Highmark Health had also been working on its Living Health strategy, a comprehensive vision and plan for transforming the healthcare consumer experience for all of Highmark Health members, patients and customers. Google was already working with Highmark to transition its data into the cloud, and when we all met we realized we have a shared vision that the consumer needs to be at the center of healthcare, not administration, not billing, not transactions. We quickly came to understand that each of us could bring something unique to the table: care, cloud and CX. 

Q: What are the broader implications and value proposition of the League CX platform being available in the Google Cloud Marketplace?

A:  Having League in the Google Cloud Marketplace really comes down to the need for speed. Organizations are trying to transform. This is hard stuff. Transitioning data to the cloud is a fundamental step. Google Cloud enables healthcare organizations to transition their data into the cloud, normalize it, align it with FHIR-based standards, and then it can be actionable. That’s where League comes in with our machine learning models and our personalization foundry that drive personalized experiences. Engagement is a core tenant of how the League platform delivers that end consumer experience. 

Q: Highmark Health has said that what sets League apart is expertise in healthcare and CX. How do the two fit together?

A: First, we bring a disparate set of services together in one seamless, integrated way. Second, we leverage data about the consumer through a multitude of sources in a standards-based format, and we use that information to drive the ideal next best action. We orchestrate it in a way that we know will engage the consumer and that creates an experience very different from traditional healthcare or health insurance experiences, where people show up maybe once or twice a year. We build an experience that they use all the time, an experience healthcare consumers engage in 365 days of the year.

Q: How do integrating point solutions, making data interoperable and orchestrating data for engagement within a platform lead to better outcomes and lower costs?

A: Over the last 10 years, we’ve seen this huge wave of innovation in healthcare, a sea of point solutions that each provide value to the end consumer. But if you think about it from the consumer standpoint, things actually just got a lot more complicated. Here’s where digital healthcare platforms come in. Platforms bring those disparate point solutions together in an integrated, seamless experience for the end consumer that actually drives engagement. That engagement leads to better healthcare outcomes and better healthcare economics. Point solutions always give way to platforms because transformation is hard, and no one can do it alone. There’s nearly an infinite surface area in healthcare. This is where the power of platforms comes in, providing building blocks to help accelerate time-to-value. 

Q: Looking toward the future, what does the new era of care, cloud and CX signal about the direction consumer, patient and member experiences are heading?

A: It’s the best of today built for tomorrow. In the first wave of transformation, you often see closed architectures and a lot of build versus buy decisions. It rarely gets you where you need to be. The second wave really is about open architectures and shared ecosystems. Platforms are a force-multiplier to accelerate digital transformation. We’re ushering in a new era of CX in healthcare, one that’s personalized, digital and always on. This new era seamlessly integrates a broad range of services into one easy-to-use experience that leverages data to drive a completely personalized health journey for each and every one of us.