In this Expert Insights Series interview, Blue Margin Director of Consulting, Kate Eberle, hosts SimonMed’s VP of FP&A, Pedro Renteria. Founded in 2003 and backed by private equity firm American Securities, SimonMed is one of the largest outpatient medical imaging and physician radiology practices in the U.S. With over 200 subspecialty-trained radiologists, the company operates across 11 states with more than 160 facilities.
Before joining SimonMed, Pedro led as VP of FP&A at Frontier Communications, Sr. Director of FP&A at financial services company Early Warning, Finance Controller at Amazon, and Finance Director at American Airlines and U.S. Airways. It was an honor to host Pedro and discuss SimonMed’s business intelligence (BI) success story.
“Thinking about our overall strategy, we know that there is value in data and decision making around data. If we can be purposeful around the metrics we measure, the long-run value is ultimately there. Reporting shows the health and culture of a company from point A to point B. We are steps ahead of where we were two years ago. It does not just feel better — our company is doing better, performance-wise. There are key large indicators telling us we are doing the right thing.”
— Pedro Renteria, VP of FP&A, SimonMed
Jump to a topic:
- SimonMed’s BI Journey: A Healthcare Case Study
- How SimonMed Uses Data Analytics to Increase Patient Volume and Employee Engagement
- SimonMed’s Data-Driven, Human-Centered Approach to Performance Improvements
- Pedro’s perspective on ROI and SimonMed’s progress
Improving Conversion Rates and Tech Productivity: A Healthcare Case Study
“When we came in, we had multiple reports showing our patient volume with different numbers. The reports weren’t wrong, but there were different filters and data included. We had to determine how we define a patient. That got everyone on board, speaking the same language. We now have a single source of BI truth where everyone can look daily to see the numbers.”
— Pedro Renteria
The Issue
As a private equity-backed platform company rolling up new acquisitions, SimonMed faced data limitations, including inconsistent access to data and inconsistent metric definitions. A lack of complete pipeline visibility hindered conversion rates, while limited real-time insight into modality, clinic, and provider performance constrained productivity.
The Solution and Approach
Blue Margin organized an existing data warehouse, aligned on key metrics, and built Power BI dashboards focused on Conversion Analysis and Tech Productivity.
The Conversion Analysis dashboard displays conversion ratios at both aggregate and modality levels and enables analysis by clinic, region, and provider. The Tech Productivity dashboard leverages Relative Value Units (RVUs) to standardize productivity measurement across scan types, allowing leadership to identify opportunities for targeted intervention.
With centralized, automated reporting, SimonMed leadership now makes faster, more confident decisions. Improved visibility into conversion rates and productivity has driven increased patient volume, improved profitability, and stronger engagement across the organization.
Read the full SimonMed Case Study
Increasing Patient Volume and Employee Engagement with Data Intelligence
“Good data creates comfort for voicing opinions. It powers strong culture and engagement, because people have tools available to be resourceful and determine if something is wrong. That is very empowering for an organization.”
— Pedro Renteria
With improved data visibility, SimonMed clinics work toward clear patient volume goals tied directly to revenue outcomes. Dashboards show budgeted, forecasted, and actual volumes, giving teams historical context and ownership of site-level performance.
When employees know what it takes to win, work becomes a game. SimonMed leadership sees this play out daily as teams proactively adjust schedules, follow up on cancellations, and take ownership of results.
A Data-Driven, Human-Centered Approach to Performance Improvements
“These reports are not for identifying who is not doing the right thing. They’re for gaining insights and identifying needed process changes.”
— Pedro Renteria
SimonMed leaders use BI reporting to guide productive conversations with clinical business partners and sales teams. Dashboards provide a neutral, fact-based starting point for decisions around staffing, workflow, and investment.
Rather than using data to single out individuals, SimonMed focuses on identifying underperforming processes. This approach improves outcomes while maintaining trust, morale, and engagement.
Quantitative and Qualitative ROI
“You can’t look at every report and ask what the ROI is. Instead, you have to ask whether the organization values data-driven decision making — and whether that belief translates into better outcomes.”
— Pedro Renteria
Rather than isolating ROI to individual reports, SimonMed evaluates the long-term impact of data initiatives through improved decision quality, cultural alignment, and employee engagement. These qualitative outcomes provide a more meaningful measure of value creation.
Trying to calculate the ROI of your own data initiative? Use our guide to calculating ROI of data projects .
Interested in connecting with Pedro? Visit SimonMed or connect with him on LinkedIn.
Blue Margin — Private Equity’s Trusted BI Advisor
Blue Margin increases enterprise value for PE-backed, mid-market companies by building and managing data platforms. Our approach — proven across 250+ companies — expands multiples through data-driven decision making, as outlined in our book The Dashboard Effect. Download your copy and subscribe to our podcast for weekly insights.
