Transforming Healthcare With Digital Innovation: The Greenway Health and AWS Collaboration
by David Cohen
![David Cohen, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Greenway Health](/sites/default/files/styles/fourth_column/public/image/2022-03/David%20Cohen%2C%20Chief%20Product%20and%20Technology%20Officer%2C%20Greenway%20Health_0.jpg.webp?itok=pRwApGwd)
David Cohen is Chief Product and Technology Officer at Greenway Health, a prominent healthcare technology solutions and services provider in the US ambulatory market. The company is backed by VISTA Equity Partners, which has facilitated the acceleration of Greenway’s product ambitions.
On joining Greenway in 2019, David was responsible for redefining product vision and strategy. He then oversaw the consolidation of Greenway’s product and technology organization into a unified entity. The boost to its product roadmap paves the way for strategic partnerships and innovations.
Regulatory Compliance
Greenway operates in a highly regulated environment, and keeping up with evolving rules and regulations raises a challenge. In the past, a significant portion of its product roadmap was allocated to regulatory compliance, yielding limited results. Greenway collaborated with AWS's Digital Innovation team to break this pattern.
The first project with AWS's Digital Innovation team focused on building a data and analytics platform — an integral component of Greenway’s regulatory compliance program. This project offered it the confidence to venture into a cloud-based environment, which was a significant leap forward in its technological capabilities. Encouraged by the success of this endeavor, Greenway proceeded to develop Greenway Telehealth, its first cloud-native product. The delivery of this telehealth solution within a 12- to 16-week timeframe showcased the potential of cloud-native product development.
Inspired by these achievements, Greenway pursued cloud modernization initiatives and a data center exit strategy in collaboration with AWS, uncovering new opportunities for innovation and growth.
Greenway’s cloud migration is an essential accelerant for innovation. The move to a modern platform facilitated organizational agility, speed to market, and vision to value. With AWS's breadth of capabilities, Greenway saw its cloud strategy as a potential catalyst for further innovation and success. Embracing a working-backward approach, it aligned its projects with customer needs and success metrics, positioning itself for a successful future in healthcare technology solutions and services.
Multi-Faceted Innovation
David employed a multi-faceted approach to innovation. He first advocated for being a fast follower, rapidly adopting successful industry practices. Second, he sought inspiration from other industries and identified ways to adapt and implement successful ideas within the healthcare sector. Third, the partnership with AWS provided access to a wealth of innovation without incurring significant risk, as AWS continually invests in advancements.
Greenway's focus on cloud migration catalyzed its cultural and process transformation. Working with AWS, it employed a “build-with, not build-for” philosophy, allowing it to tailor solutions to its unique requirements. Adopting a working-backward approach, it kept the end goal in mind throughout project development and ensured alignment with customer needs and success metrics.
Businesses must leverage their data assets to understand their operations better. This principle holds for Greenway Health’s clients in the healthcare sector, where having access to accurate reports, dashboards, and analytics tools is crucial for informed decision-making across clinical, financial, and operational domains. Greenway embarked on a significant project to develop a data analytics platform on AWS as part of its commitment to enhancing client success. This platform empowers its clients with valuable insights, positioning them for success in an ever-evolving industry.
Long-Term Value
The value of creating a data analytics platform on AWS extends beyond immediate benefits. By harnessing AWS's capabilities, Greenway gains full access to advanced tools like SageMaker and other AI and machine learning resources. This opens a realm of unconstrained innovation opportunities, driving continuous progress and improvement for the company and its clients. Moreover, Greenway recognizes the importance of focusing resources on core business objectives. Instead of diverting valuable resources to managing data centers, it channels its efforts toward developing and delivering cutting-edge healthcare technology solutions and services.
The cloud migration enabled Greenway to innovate and deliver advanced healthcare technology solutions and services. It also eliminated the need for the company to divert resources toward managing data centers. It could instead focus on attracting the right talent and reskilling its workforce to drive digital transformation effectively.
Overall, the cloud migration project between Greenway and AWS was a success. The decision to migrate solutions and services to the AWS cloud aligns with Greenway’s commitment to optimizing resource allocation and maximizing client value. With a strategic shift toward a cloud-based infrastructure, Greenway can efficiently and effectively serve its clients. This ensures they receive the best solutions and services to thrive in the rapidly evolving healthcare landscape.
To listen to a conversation with David Cohen about his partnership with AWS, click here.