Profile

Professional summary

I've translated my passion for healthcare business and policy into a career as a healthcare strategy consultant, entrepreneur and board member. Lately I've focused mainly on digital health, technology enabled healthcare services, and working with multi-stakeholder collaboratives.

I have written thousands of posts and recorded hundreds of podcasts on the Health Business Blog since 2005. Podcast guests include CEOs, politicians (I interviewed all nine candidates for Governor of Massachusetts) and entrepreneurs.

I've assisted the federal government as a review committee chairman to implement key components of the Affordable Care Act and the HITECH Act. I'm frequently interviewed about healthcare for outlets such as Marketplace (NPR), BusinessWeek, The Boston Globe and US News.

Engagement overview

Duration and cost of an engagement depends on the scope of work, identified during the initial consultation.

Clients

• inVentiv Health, New York, NY
• iCardiac Technologies, Rochester, NY
• National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, Washington, DC
• Candescent Partners, Boston, MA
• Brain Resource Company, Sydney, Australia
• Hearts & Noses Hospital Clown Troupe, Needham, MA
• Forum For Collaborative HIV Research at UC Berkeley
• Goldman Sachs Special Situations Group, Dallas, TX
• Stonehenge Growth Capital, New York NY
• Candescent Wound Healing, Tarrytown, NY
• CareCentrix, Hartford, CT
• MediGift, San Francisco, CA
• Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative
• Healthy Memphis Common Table
• RedBrick Health, Minneapolis, MN
• Advanced Practice Strategies
• Center for Improving Value in Health Care, Denver, CO
• Bliss Healthcare Inc., Waltham, MA

Case Studies

Despite that growth, advances in technology and computer networks, consolidation of the provider market, and the company’s lack of a comprehensive pricing strategy had created challenges.  .. Read more

An initial plan had been developed internally, but key members of the parent organization’s board and senior management were skeptical of the value of research and were concerned about the costs of the institute and of the proposed strategy.  .. Read more

Market dynamics had been deteriorating as the pharmaceutical industry began to reduce the size sales forces; meanwhile, large customers had started negotiating aggressively. .. Read more

Testimonials

Health Business Group helped APS transform itself into a high-growth company with a powerful business model. Their strategic insights, business development skills and organizational savvy have been invaluable.

John Harrington, Founder and Chief Mission Officer Advanced Practice Strategies

We have used Health Business Group to help in our strategic planning process. David Williams and Karen Donovan interviewed our broad set of stakeholders and were able to synthesize input and frame strategic options for our board in a clear and concise way. Karen also led two workshops to help earn the trust of stakeholders and to gain their commitment to advance our organizational goals. Health Business Group’s ability to format and communicate information is exceptional!

Reneé Frazier, CEO Healthy Memphis Common Table

Health Business Group brings a unique combination of high strategy and practical advice to every engagement. We have worked with them on a number of engagements and have always been impressed at their attention to detail and focus on value.

Micky Tripathi, President and CEO Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative

We have worked with David Williams and the Health Business Group since 2006. They have been extremely valuable partners for Stonehenge and our portfolio companies. They have a deep knowledge and understanding of the health care system and they are able to analyze and synthesize information from disparate sources in order to make relevant and valuable strategic recommendations.

Brian Model, Managing Partner Stonehenge Growth Capital, New York NY

David Williams has advised the Forum since 2004. He has helped move this relatively small but very complex public private partnership through several stages of business growth. He is equally at home in small as well as large organizations; the guidance is based on a solid grasp of the many different facets involved in the health care business, including the perspective of patients and advocates, academicians, government agencies and the pharmaceutical industry. His advice has been practical and achievable – we include him in all aspects of organizational management, whether it is recruitment of new staff or writing a new business plan.

Veronica Miller, PhD, Director Forum For Collaborative Research at UC Berkeley

Of the last 10 years on the board of Hearts & Noses Hospital Clown Troupe David Williams has served 4 years as chair.
Under his strong leadership we have been able to significantly expand our services of bedside visits of medical clowns to hospitalized children. Through his valuable contributions in business and strategic planning he has been instrumental in the development of a number of new programs.

Beyond his business expertise David has a keen understanding of how well trained medical clowns benefit hospitalized children, balancing the sometimes odd world of troupe business, while supporting the training and creativity of the clowns and the profound needs of the children we visit.

Cheryl Lekousi, Executive & Artistic Director Hearts & Noses Hospital Clown Troupe, Needham, MA

David and his team are experts in helping non-profit health care organizations develop sustainable business models.

Bruce Siegel, MD, President and CEO National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, Washington, DC

Candescent Partners has engaged Health Business Group both for third-party due diligence and strategic consulting in our health care service portfolio companies. Grounded in their deep knowledge and experience in the sector, their advice has been intelligent, responsive and influential in our decision making. They appreciate the entrepreneurial character of the enterprises we are acquiring and tailor their consulting to meet the needs of our portfolio companies. We will continue to work with Health Business Group as a preferred consulting partner in the health care service arena.

Alexander (Sandy) S. McGrath, Managing Partner Candescent Partners, Boston, MA

I have known and worked with David Williams for many years and have been extremely impressed with his insights on many aspects of health policy and business and strategy. He is one of the most knowledgeable people I know on these issues, and I read his blog regularly to keep abreast of the field. He has also been a valuable advisor to our research center on matters related to health policy trends, quality measurement, and information technology.

Peter J. Neumann, Sc.D., Director Center for the Evaluation of Value and Risk in Health. Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies, Tufts Medical Center.

Health Business Group has a tremendous depth of expertise in the health care technology sector. The principals are extremely action oriented and can quickly develop plans that are both easy to deploy as well as useful for gaining Board of Directors alignment on key strategic investment decisions. I’ve been particularly impressed with the ability of the Health Business Group to staff projects with small ‘strike’ teams with consulting and operational experts and quickly develop well-articulated and analytically rigorous go/no go recommendations. Most importantly, the teams can identify highly industry specific challenges that would not be obvious from any research reports or discussions with industry participants who are maintaining the party line.

Mikael Totterman, Chairman and CEO Cleriovision, Rochester, NY

Karen has been an advocate and board member for our company for the past two years. Her healthcare strategy expertise, industry knowledge, and network of contacts has been invaluable. She is deeply knowledgeable about healthcare technology and services, and has been involved in critical aspects of strategic planning, meeting facilitation, business development, and product development. I am grateful for her contribution and guidance.

Pankaj Khare, CEO Bliss Healthcare Inc., Waltham, MA

The Health Business Group does great work, which is why I have engaged them many times over the past decade. Their highly capable, experienced teams are expert at quickly gathering and synthesizing primary data to provide insights for strategy and due diligence. I value their willingness to challenge our thinking; they have helped us make profitable decisions and avoid costly mistakes.

Eran Broshy, Former Chairman and CEO inVentiv Health, New York, NY

David Williams and his team at Health Business Group bring a unique combination of clear thinking, pragmatism, creativity, and extensive industry connections to each project. They’re whip-smart, result-focused, and get to the point quickly. The value I’ve received in working with David and his group on numerous projects over the years has far outweighed the cost.

Eric Zimmerman, Chief Marketing Officer RedBrick Health, Minneapolis, MN

David Williams has been a valued partner in our efforts to build a sound and sustainable organization. He has proven to be a quick study on the idiosyncrasies of our local health care market and to be adept at using his up-to-the-minute knowledge of the national landscape to identify potential opportunities that fit our mission and capabilities. David is an excellent communicator who goes above and beyond what he has promised, delivering the information and insight that we need to make decisions.

Randall D. Cebul, MD, Director, President Center for Health Care Research & Policy, Case Western Reserve University. Better Health Greater Cleveland

Health Business Group delivers a unique blend of industry knowledge, primary data gathering prowess, analytical rigor, and creative, yet practical solutions to health care business issues. I have turned to David Williams, Karen Donovan and their colleagues for a variety of challenging consulting engagements over the past 10 years and have always been pleased with the results and value for money. I recommend Health Business Group wholeheartedly.

John Driscoll, CEO CareCentrix, Hartford, CT

We want to thank David Williams for his excellent and engaging presentation at the HFMA conference. It was really refreshing to hear more about how Amazon, Google, and others can transform the healthcare industry. We truly appreciate the time you took to join us and to help make the day a tremendous success.

Karen Granoff, Senior Director Managed Care