Q&A: Stephanie Iheme Joins 1upHealth as VP Customer Success & Services

Best healthcare experience? Worst?

As a healthcare consumer I care about service efficiency and of course care quality. There are still tremendous inefficiencies when sharing information across the different facets of healthcare. I recently had to make a phone call to request a record to be faxed to another provider, and as I waited on hold to initiate that request, it reminded me that while the industry has made huge progress in the last decade or so, there are so many workflows that are still manual. This moment for me was a minor inconvenience, but one can extrapolate the impact of data silos on care continuity and collaboration among healthcare professionals. Fragmented patient records, hindered care coordination, and delayed or limited data-driven decision making are just a few of the consequences. 

Biggest challenge facing healthcare today, how does 1up help solve?

In a complex healthcare landscape, where multiple systems and organizations operate independently, 1upHealth enables the seamless exchange of health information and allows different EHRs and healthcare applications to communicate and share data efficiently. This exchange of data enhances communication, collaboration, and workflow efficiency among healthcare providers, leading to an improved member and patient experience and better patient outcomes.

What excites you about joining the 1up team?

Being part of the 1upHealth family provides so many opportunities –  to build an outstanding product, to provide our clients with impeccable customer service, to develop wide-ranging skills and problem solving muscles, and to collaborate with a diverse, passionate and caring group of people. Of course the opportunity to be part of something that will play a significant role and have a massive impact on healthcare is exciting too! 

How has your previous experience prepared you for this role at 1up?

Providing exceptional customer experiences is my passion and my priority, as well as the development of the individuals and teams that support those business functions every day. I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of building, leading and scaling customer-facing SaaS and enterprise software services teams in high-growth health tech environments for over 15 years. I’ve worked on customer-centric initiatives on every part of the customer journey from pre-sales through technical implementation, onboarding, and ongoing support across behavioral health, population health and ultrasound platforms. Along the way I’ve learned that if you set positive first impressions, establish trusting relationships, and deliver meaningful outcomes, you create customers for life.  

What can our customers expect from our CS and Implementation teams?

Our team understands that when customers win, we win – and we push ourselves daily to deliver services and value that transforms the customer experience. This starts at the beginning of an implementation when we assign a team of dedicated, skilled resources who ensure a predictable, fleet and seamless project. The team, led by an experienced Implementation Manager, works closely with the customer to understand their requirements, goals, and challenges. They maintain alignment on deliverables and milestones and provide transparency across project phases from discovery and engagement readiness through testing, integration and transition to Support.  

A Customer Success Manager is introduced at project kickoff to understand measures of success and drive positive customer outcomes across the entire customer lifecycle. They are proactive in their approach, constantly seeking opportunities to add value and help customers achieve their desired outcomes. They are highly knowledgeable about the product and can provide expert advice and recommendations to optimize its usage. They also act as a bridge between the customer and 1upHealth, advocating for the customer’s needs and feedback to drive product improvements and enhancements and providing them with the resources they need to be successful.

The CS and Services teams are committed to building strong relationships with our customers and I genuinely believe that 1upHealth is differentiated in the industry through their collective efforts.

Any final thoughts  you want to share?

I’ve heard it said that improving healthcare is an evolution not a revolution. I think it’s both. While it’s always easier to implement incremental innovation gradually, transformative changes are needed to address systemic issues and achieve better outcomes. If enabling true patient centered care by breaking down data silos is the future, then the future is now. We’re really excited to help our customers meet the moment.