Discover How Cohere Health Leverages Technology to Fuel Its Mission-Driven Culture | Built In

Picture this: you’re at the grocery store, but instead of checking prices, you have to spin a big wheel to determine the cost of your items. Whatever price you land on is what you pay for each apple, loaf of bread, or piece of fish. And guess what? You can’t put anything back. This chaotic scenario mirrors how many people feel about healthcare in the United States.

This confusion is exactly why Cohere Health was founded in 2019. Their goal is simple: to make healthcare easier to understand and navigate.

“We use data, artificial intelligence, and technology to help patients, doctors, and insurance companies work together more efficiently,” explains Gus Weber, their Chief Digital and Technology Officer. “By collaborating, we aim to ensure patients receive timely and appropriate care, enhancing the overall experience while also lowering costs and increasing transparency in healthcare.”

Cohere Health specializes in intelligent prior authorization, which is a process that helps align doctors and insurance providers throughout a patient’s care journey. This can be a complex task, as different insurance companies often have unique requirements for prior authorization forms. This makes it challenging for healthcare providers who have to adjust each request accordingly.

A survey from the American Medical Association shows that 91% of doctors believe patients face delays in receiving medical care due to these authorization hurdles, with 75% of patients sometimes abandoning needed treatments altogether. To address this, new regulations from The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services state that by 2026, insurers must respond to urgent prior authorization requests within 72 hours.

According to Weber, creating a strong team culture is essential for simplifying healthcare and improving patient outcomes. The culture at Cohere Health is deeply tied to their mission, which focuses on innovative approaches to patient care.

Weber emphasizes the importance of building a culture based on:

• Shared Purpose: Every team member should feel connected to the mission of improving patient care.
• Empowerment: Team members must feel encouraged to innovate, take risks, and learn from mistakes.
• Transparency and Trust: Open communication fosters a safe space for sharing ideas and collaborating.
• Continuous Growth: Opportunities for learning and professional development should always be available.

Weber believes that collaboration among different teams is crucial. For instance, when the clinical review team noticed slow turnaround times for prior authorizations, they formed a multi-disciplinary group to address the issue. This team included product managers, engineers, clinicians, and data scientists who collectively came up with a tech-based solution. As a result, the time it took to get prior authorizations dropped by 40%.

Cohere Health celebrates such achievements in their monthly and quarterly meetings, highlighting how teamwork and shared goals contribute to better healthcare delivery.

“Our mission is a daily guiding principle,” Weber says. “By linking our everyday tasks to this larger mission, we create a culture of trust and shared purpose that drives meaningful changes in healthcare.”

Weber’s tactics for fostering a strong team culture revolve around connecting performance to purposeful actions. He also urges the team to challenge existing processes and embrace humility, creating a workplace where continuous learning is encouraged.

Ultimately, Cohere Health’s culture stems from trust and teamwork, allowing them to tackle the complexities of healthcare. By prioritizing a mission-driven approach that encourages innovation, humility, and collaboration, they aim to positively impact patient care and the healthcare system overall.