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 subspeciality trained radiologists, the company operates across 11 states with over 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 his observations of 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, VP of FP&A, SimonMed
The Issue
As a private equity-backed platform company rolling up new acquisitions, SimonMed faced data limitations and challenges, including automated access to data and standardized metric definitions. A lack of complete, efficient pipeline visibility hindered their ability to increase conversion rates, while a lack of real-time insights into modalities, clinic, and provider performance hindered productivity.
The Solution and Approach
Blue Margin organized an existing data warehouse, identified key metrics, and built Power BI dashboards which included Conversion Analysis and Tech Productivity. The Conversion Analysis dashboard displays conversion ratios at both the overall level and individual modalities and allows users to analyze conversions by clinic location/region and provider performance, enabling targeted interventions and enhancements. The Tech Productivity dashboard feature a complex metric called Relative Value Units (RVU) that standardizes productivity measurement across different scan types, allowing leaders to accurately assess productivity, intervening to drive productivity improvements.
By centralizing data, leadership teams at SimonMed now make data-driven decisions, resulting in improved performance and profitability. Automated visibility saves time, while pipeline conversation rate and productivity level visibility power decisions that drive increased patient volume and performance. Company culture, engagement and health have improved.
[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, VP of FP&A, SimonMed
With newfound data visibility, SimonMed clinics work toward patient volume goals that generate added revenue. Clinic dashboards display budgeted, forecasted, and actual patient volume numbers. Knowing historical performance and quarterly goals empowers ownership of site operations.
When employees have clear goals and know what it takes “to win”, work becomes a game. (Chuck Coonradt discusses this concept in his bestselling book Game of Work and in our interview with him.) SimonMed leadership sees this business phenomenon playing out and improving their bottom line. Employees say things like, “I’m not meeting my numbers -what do I need to do?” and “We had patient cancellations, so I called up future patients and asked if they wanted to come in today.”
A Data-Driven, Human-Centered Approach to Performance Improvements
“With our human nature, it is hard to accept numbers that point to a problem. Everyone wants to do their best and nobody wants to be put on the spot for deficit or failure, right? In these conversations, we communicate that 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, VP of FP&A, SimonMed
SimonMed operations and FP&A leaders use BI reporting to lead conversations with their clinical business partners (BPs) and sales reps. In these performance conversations, SimonMed senior leaders teach their directors and business partners how to use dashboards to make data-driven decisions and surface concerns.
Pedro shares an example conversation of a BP requesting additional headcount. “When someone says, ‘I need another tech,’ we look at the site productivity to see if it makes sense. Together, we see that we have already maxed out current tech productivity, and the BP can point to the facts and say, ‘See, I'm telling you.’”
In addition to informing decisions on staffing needs, granular data allows for pointed conversations and clear directives, but rather than using the dashboards to identify underperforming people, SimonMed leaders use dashboards to identify underperforming processes. This approach improves productivity while maintaining morale and promoting engagement with change.
Quantitative and Qualitative ROI
“You can't look at every report and say, ‘Well, go tell me what the ROI is for that.’ That is not going to be possible. First, think - What does our company value? A data-driven decision-making process? And do we believe that leads to value for the organization?” – Pedro Renteria, VP of FP&A, SimonMed
It can be challenging to calculate the value of data initiatives. At the end of the day, attempting to calculate how much of your improvement in operational efficiency came from increased data visibility and how much of it came from the new pay structure may not prove worthwhile.
Instead, Pedro looks at data intelligence ROI from a long-term vantage point. He thinks about how metrics are chosen and defined, and whether this methodology drives outcomes. He considers how data initiatives bring a company’s expressed value of data-driven decision making into alignment with reality. Finally, he looks at organizational and cultural health as well as employee engagement, measuring these key indicators before and after the BI initiative. These qualitative aspects provide a fresh and valuable take on ROI.
---> Trying to calculate the ROI of your company’s potential data project? Use our guide: How to Calculate ROI of Data Projects
Interested in connecting with Pedro? You can find him at SimonMed or via LinkedIn.
Blue Margin - Private Equity's Trusted BI Advisor
Blue Margin increases enterprise value for PE-backed, mid-market companies by building and managing their data platforms. Our strategy, proven with over 250 companies to-date, expands multiples through data transformation, as presented in our book, The Dashboard Effect. Download your copy here and subscribe to our podcast for weekly insights.
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