CONVENTIONAL WISDOM says that to introduce real change, you need to bring in someone from outside. Jack LeFort, CEO and founder
of Connextions Health, a company in the emerging field of consumer-directed healthcare (CDHC), has brought a similar paradigm
shift to healthcare from the outside.
Jack LeFort CEO and founder, Connextions Health
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"I have no background in healthcare," LeFort says. Connextions Health was established by LeFort as a logical extension of
lessons learned while building Connextions Inc., a supplier of contact center and fulfillment services that continues to serve
corporate clients such as Federal Express, Mercedes-Benz and Sprint. "I migrated Connextions into the healthcare segment about
four years ago. At that time, it was clear to me that the technology and established Customer Relationship Management [CRM]
disciplines that work so well for other industries would align perfectly with the evolution of CDHC in the United States-which
increasingly will assign all aspects of healthcare-related decision-making to individual consumers."
Prior to founding Connextions, LeFort ran Philadelphia-based InterSpace, one of the nation's largest commercial interior architectural
firms. InterSpace completed projects for well-known organizations such as DaimlerChrysler and The World Bank, as well as the
federal government. During his tenure at InterSpace, LeFort came to appreciate the importance of delivering tangible business
value to clients, rather than supplying services that could be easily replicated by competitors. He learned how to build long-term
working relationships by treating clients as "partners" rather than customers. This partnership approach has become Connextions'
calling card. "That approach, supported by the customer-centric disciplines we've built, are why we think we have an advantage
in not coming from the depth and historical background of the healthcare industry, where CRM is just beginning to be understood
and applied," LeFort says. "We began with our CRM expertise, then combined it with leading clinical and decision-support technologies,
and recruited a team of highly skilled healthcare professionals. We have no pre-conceived notions of how healthcare should
be delivered."
Q Do you see CDHC as a panacea, a solution or a way station?A All healthcare industry participants are attempting to figure out if CDHC is just a passing fad, or truly represents the
future of healthcare. No one has the answer to that question right now, but this uncertain environment demands flexibility,
innovation, speed and a high degree of courage. Our own business focus is not yet directly on consumers, but rather on enabling
industry insurers, providers and employers to gain traction in this rapidly evolving movement.
Q How does the concept of CRM fit in to CDHC?
A Healthcare delivery will adopt many characteristics of CRM that have proven to be successful in other industries for decades.
In healthcare, we believe CRM will work best as a member/patient retention strategy.
At A Glance
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At Cedars-Sinai, for example, we helped that hospital build its CRM capability through more effective management of its patient
scheduling and internal referrals to its many specialty clinics. This ongoing program has not only produced qualitative results
reflected in higher levels of patient satisfaction and loyalty, but also has generated substantial quantitative benefits measured
by higher revenue in its specialty practices.
Q Describe the paradigm shift in healthcare.
A The CDHC movement is the catalyst for a healthcare paradigm shift of a magnitude not seen since the introduction of Medicare
in the 1960s. A host of factors-including the skyrocketing cost of care, emergence of the Internet, aging of the boomer generation-are
all driving significant pressure to the traditional healthcare supply chain, and as a result, the industry's institutional
roles, economics, politics and delivery platforms will all change. New industry participants also will emerge.
