Christiana Voelker is an experienced technology leader with a demonstrated background working in and supporting the healthcare industry. Over her career she’s led EMR implementations, clinical analytics projects, and launched population health solutions within large hospital systems. Christiana speaks and advises healthcare leaders at industry conferences including Becker’s, HLTH, HIMSS, Healthcare IT Institute and NGPX discussing use cases and governance for AI within patient experience, health equity, access and more. She has been quoted in Healthcare IT Today, HIMSS TV and is the author of five blogs. She was named a Top 50 Healthcare Leader in Consulting by The Consulting Report in 2022 and 2024.
Recently, in an exclusive interview with CXO Outlook Magazine, Christiana shared her professional trajectory, insights on diversity and inclusion, her favorite quote, significant career milestone, future plans, pearls of wisdom, and much more. The following excerpts are taken from the interview.
Hi Christiana. Please tell us about your background and areas of expertise.
My passion for healthcare and technology developed at a young age while following my mom, who is an orthopedic surgeon, as she served in the Philadelphia community. Although I wanted to pursue a career in medicine, I decided to focus my studies on business, leadership, and organizational development during undergrad and graduate school. I also completed the necessary science courses. My aspirations to pursue a medical career were halted when I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in my early twenties. Fortunately, I was recruited into a health technology company, which fulfilled my interests in healthcare while also allowing me the flexibility to manage my own health.
In the beginning of my career, I helped hospitals and clinics implement electronic medical record (EMR) solutions. As I gained more expertise, I was promoted from consulting to project management and then helped clients deploy clinical and financial analytics solutions. When that company was sold several years later, I was laid off and was devastated. At the time, my son was 1.5 years old, and I set ambitious standards for myself to balance spending time with him and avoiding daycare costs while searching for a new job. I was close to burning out after 6 weeks when I landed a new job at a small boutique technology consulting firm, with the help of a previous colleague.
My new firm capitalized on my health experience and placed me as a product manager of their population health and care management solution. I served in that role for several years until the company was acquired and I felt ready to make a change. Just when I was starting to look for new roles in 2020, the previous recruiter I had worked with called me from his new company, Avanade, and invited me to interview for a health lead role, which I was fortunate to be hired for. Over the past 4 years at Avanade, I have successfully created the health industry go-to-market strategy, served as a subject matter expert, and collaborated with clients to address and solve significant challenges.
What do you love the most about your current role?
In my current role as Healthcare Industry Lead for The Americas region at Avanade, I have a unique opportunity to speak with health executives about their current challenges and determine how technology can be used to help alleviate them. I love solving challenges for clients and making a difference. I enjoy learning from clients and other organizations at conferences, as well as imparting some of my experience and knowledge. Most of all, I believe that healthcare should feel like care, and this role gives me the opportunity to help healthcare organizations do that for their patients, enhancing their experiences.
What are the most significant challenges facing healthcare organizations today, and how do you advise clients to address them?
The most significant challenge in healthcare today is workforce shortage and burnout. The U.S. faces an estimated shortage of between 37,800 and 124,000 primary care and specialist physicians by 2034 (AAMC Report Reinforces Mounting Physician Shortage | AAMC). Research estimates that 70% of healthcare worker’s tasks could be reinvented by technology augmentation or automation (Accenture Total Enterprise Reinvention). Technology can alleviate the burden of administrative tasks, allow clinicians to focus on their patients, increase employee and patient satisfaction, and improve clinical outcomes. I advise clients on which technology solution(s) to use and how to achieve their desired outcome. For example, I might advise a client that wants to improve clinician experience and reduce workload to consider ambient listening AI technology that transcribes patient encounters, reducing time spent on charting and increasing the focus on the patient. There is a myriad of ways technology can be used to automate or enhance processes in healthcare and my responsibility is to guide clients to select the right technology and ensure it is deployed appropriately to accomplish their goals.
Another significant challenge is competition and disruption from retail health and venture capital firms. Patients often choose retail clinics because of the convenience and experience they offer. I advise clients on ways to improve patient experience and engagement through personalization, automation, and self-service tools. Patients want their experiences to be similar to those in other industries, such as having ability to interact through chat, schedule appointments online, be recognized when calling, etc. As patients become more digitally savvy, health organizations need to adopt an omnichannel approach and capitalize on consumer data available to personalize interactions.
How do you stay informed about emerging trends and innovations in the healthcare industry?
Being informed about industry research is an important aspect of my role. This includes regularly reading sources such as Becker’s Hospital Review, Fierce Healthcare, Healthcare Dive, and Healthcare Transformers to remain updated on emerging trends. Additionally, I gain insights from seminars and discussions with healthcare leaders and our clients.
What role do you believe digital health technologies (e.g., telehealth, AI) will play in shaping the future of healthcare?
Digital health technologies will be integral to shaping the future of healthcare. Virtual health solutions help clinicians care for more patients while enabling access. For example, telehealth and remote patient monitoring allow patients in rural areas to access care that may not be located near them. Virtual nursing and the use of video and motion ensure patients are monitored despite staff shortages.
AI, and particularly new generative AI, will shape the way clinicians and staff work. AI can facilitate everything from marketing content creation and automation to clinical decision support and predictive modeling. We’ve helped clients use generative AI to translate patient instructions, assist call center agents with summaries and relevant suggestions, create a knowledge base chat for clinicians, and automate e-faxing. Technology is critical for organizations to continue delivering care to an aging population with limited resources. Solutions focused on improving the employee experience will reduce burnout and turnover and lead to better patient experience. According to a recent Trendlines survey of 800 healthcare and life sciences leaders, many healthcare organizations began their AI journey applying gen AI to administrative and operational use cases, given their relative feasibility and lower risk. Now, according to the survey, healthcare and life science organizations are expanding their views and investing in the use of gen AI across clinical and operational applications.
What are your thoughts on gender equality and inclusion? Do you think there is a gender bias in your industry?
Technology consulting has traditionally been a male-dominated field. As technology has become more pervasive and opportunities opened for women to pursue careers in STEM, there has been increased representation. Avanade has been committed to increasing the representation of women and exceeded the goal of 40% of new hires being women.
What is your favorite quote?
“We rise by lifting others” -Robert Ingersoll
This quote is significant because it emphasizes that effective leaders serve and empower others. It also highlights the importance of paying it forward and assisting others when one has achieved success, through activities such as mentoring and volunteering. Recognizing and supporting colleagues in achieving their goals is a priority for me.
What is one accomplishment you’re proud of?
I am proud of all my accomplishments that have led to where I am in my career today, especially the technology solutions I helped create or deploy that impacted health experience and outcomes. Recently, it was an honor to be recognized for my success and dedication by The Consulting Report on their list of “The Top 25 Healthcare Consultants and Leaders of 2024”.
What drives you? How do you measure personal success?
I am driven to make a difference by leveraging my expertise and passion for technology to improve healthcare outcomes. Helping others is at the core of my professional and personal philosophy; I believe in serving and empowering those around me, whether it’s through mentoring colleagues, offering support to clients, or volunteering in my community. I am also committed to continuous learning, constantly seeking out new knowledge and staying abreast of industry trends and innovations. By doing so, I aim to bring the best solutions to the challenges faced by healthcare organizations, ensuring they can provide better care and experiences for their patients. I measure my success by the positive impacts I have had on colleagues, clients, and my community.
Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
I thoroughly enjoy my work and plan to remain in my current field. In the next 5 years, I aim to take on more responsibilities and drive Avanade’s growth strategy.
One piece of advice you would like to give to aspiring professionals from your industry.
My best piece of advice is to treat everyone with kindness and respect. You never know when a client, former colleague, neighbor, or acquaintance might be instrumental in your success or the next step in your career journey. Whenever I have faced career setbacks, it was invariably a former colleague who facilitated my transition into the next role. As you gain more experience and specialization in your career, the peer network often becomes smaller, making it increasingly important not to burn bridges.