Strategy Consulting for
Healthcare & Life Sciences

We combine seasoned healthcare judgment with primary research, advanced analytics, and AI to shape winning growth strategies and investment decisions

Experienced Insightful Data-driven Practical

Case Studies

Trustworthy recommendations. Measurable results. These case studies show how our strategic insight and data-driven approach deliver meaningful impact.

Case Studies
Temperature-Controlled Packaging: From Diligence Insight to Market Expansion Strategy
Commercial Due Diligence and Exit Support, Life Sciences
Temperature-Controlled Packaging: From Diligence Insight to Market Expansion Strategy
Commercial Due Diligence and Exit Support, Life Sciences

When a private-equity investor considered acquiring an innovative supplier of reusable temperature-controlled packaging (TCP), they turned to HBG for commercial diligence. The deal team needed to validate market growth, competitive positioning, and regulatory and pharmaceutical-industry risks before proceeding. 

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Commercial Due Diligence and Exit Support, Life Sciences
Medical record interoperability
AI, Growth and Market Strategy, Tech Enabled Services
Medical record interoperability
AI, Growth and Market Strategy, Tech Enabled Services

Client was a leader in electronic medical record indexing, working with major hospital systems to ensure continuity of care. With the implementation of new interoperability rules, it was imperative for the company to develop strategic growth options in adjacent markets. Client required consulting support to provide expertise outside of the hospital segment.

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AI, Growth and Market Strategy, Tech Enabled Services
Strategic AI Assessment: Positioning a Healthcare Data Leader for the Next Wave
AI, Tech Enabled Services
Strategic AI Assessment: Positioning a Healthcare Data Leader for the Next Wave
AI, Tech Enabled Services

AI is reshaping healthcare data, decision support, and drug discovery. The client was a  dominant player in clinical decision support and ePrescribing but faced rising competition from AI-driven startups entering adjacent spaces. Leadership needed a clear picture of where AI posed threats, where it opened opportunity, and how to realign strategy for sustainable growth.

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AI, Tech Enabled Services
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“We are passionate about helping our clients succeed”

Overview

Health Business Group is a leading strategy consulting firm advising companies and investors in tech-enabled healthcare services, digital health, and life sciences.

Our client service professionals average more than 15 years of healthcare strategy consulting, industry and start-up experience.

David Williams, President

Services

Our services help healthcare and life sciences leaders make better decisions in complex, high-stakes situations. We combine seasoned judgment with primary research, advanced analytics, and AI to support growth strategy, investment evaluation, and execution.

Growth Strategy

Growth strategy is our core offering. We bring disciplined thinking to define the right questions and develop hypotheses, then test them with primary and secondary data and analysis.

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Due Diligence

Health Business Group helps investors validate investment hypotheses and clarify a company’s prospects through commercial due diligence. We draw on targeted primary research, expert perspectives, data analysis, and our extensive healthcare knowledge base to assess market dynamics and growth potential. We also surface risks and hidden issues early—before they become obstacles to value creation.

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Sectors

Tech-Enabled Healthcare Services

We bring a system-level understanding of healthcare together with deep expertise in the economics, operating models, and growth dynamics of tech-enabled services.

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Life Sciences

We work with life sciences companies at every stage of development and commercialization. Engagements range from portfolio management to go-to-market strategy to M&A.

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Digital Health & AI

We help healthcare and life sciences organizations apply AI effectively and responsibly to improve quality, efficiency, and patient experience. Our work is grounded in real-world clinical, operational, and regulatory constraints.

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Private Equity/Investors

We partner with investors across the deal lifecycle, from screening opportunities and supporting bids to rigorous commercial due diligence. Post-close, we work with portfolio companies to refine and execute growth strategies.

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  • “David Williams, Karen Donovan and Heidi Schwartz led our consulting effort and they all added great value. Our consulting engagement demonstrated how well they engage in deep analytical research while providing key insights and creative go to market strategies. I would recommend them to anyone with a challenging healthcare project. They go above and beyond.”

    —Emmet Seibels, President and co-founder of Verustat

  • “Health Business Group delivers a unique blend of industry knowledge, primary data gathering prowess, analytical rigor, and creative, yet practical solutions to health care business issues. I have turned to David Williams, Karen Donovan and their colleagues for a variety of challenging consulting engagements over the past 10 years and have always been pleased with the results and value for money. I recommend Health Business Group wholeheartedly.”

    —John Driscoll, CEO CareCentrix

  • “The Health Business Group does great work, which is why I have engaged them many times over the past decade. Their highly capable, experienced teams are expert at quickly gathering and synthesizing primary data to provide insights for strategy and due diligence. I value their willingness to challenge our thinking; they have helped us make profitable decisions and avoid costly mistakes.”

    —Eran Broshy, former Chairman ERT

  • “David Williams and his team at Health Business Group bring a unique combination of clear thinking, pragmatism, creativity, and extensive industry connections to each project. They’re whip-smart, result-focused, and get to the point quickly. The value I’ve received in working with David and his group on numerous projects over the years has far outweighed the cost.”

    —Eric Zimmerman, Chief Innovation Officer Kumanu

  • ”David Williams has advised the Forum since 2004. He has helped move this relatively small but very complex public private partnership through several stages of business growth. He is equally at home in small as well as large organizations; the guidance is based on a solid grasp of the many different facets involved in the health care business, including the perspective of patients and advocates, academicians, government agencies and the pharmaceutical industry. His advice has been practical and achievable – we include him in all aspects of organizational management, whether it is recruitment of new staff or writing a new business plan.”

    —Veronica Miller, PhD, Director, Forum For Collaborative Research at UC Berkeley

  • “We have worked with David Williams and the Health Business Group for more than 10 years. They have been extremely valuable partners for TopMark and our portfolio companies. They have a deep knowledge and understanding of the health care system and they are able to analyze and synthesize information from disparate sources in order to make relevant and valuable strategic recommendations.”

    —Brian Model, Managing Partner, TopMark Capital Partners

  • “We want to thank David Williams for his excellent and engaging presentation at the HFMA conference. It was really refreshing to hear more about how Amazon, Google, and others can transform the healthcare industry. We truly appreciate the time you took to join us and to help make the day a tremendous success.”

    —Karen Granoff, Senior Director, Managed Care

  • “David Williams has been a valued partner in our efforts to build a sound and sustainable organization. He has proven to be a quick study on the idiosyncrasies of our local health care market and to be adept at using his up-to-the-minute knowledge of the national landscape to identify potential opportunities that fit our mission and capabilities. David is an excellent communicator who goes above and beyond what he has promised, delivering the information and insight that we need to make decisions.”

    —Randall D. Cebul, MD, Director, Center for Health Care Research & Policy, Case Western Reserve University. President, Better Health Greater Cleveland

  • “Karen has been an advocate and board member for our company for the several years. Her healthcare strategy expertise, industry knowledge, and network of contacts has been invaluable. She is deeply knowledgeable about healthcare technology and services, and has been involved in critical aspects of strategic planning, meeting facilitation, business development, and product development. I am grateful for her contribution and guidance.”

    —Pankaj Khare, CEO of Bliss Healthcare

  • “I have known and worked with David Williams for many years and have been extremely impressed with his insights on many aspects of health policy and business and strategy. He is one of the most knowledgeable people I know on these issues, and I read his blog regularly to keep abreast of the field. He has also been a valuable advisor to our research center on matters related to health policy trends, quality measurement, and information technology.”

    —Peter J. Neumann, Sc.D., Director, Center for the Evaluation of Value and Risk in Health. Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies, Tufts Medical Center. Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine

  • “David and his team are experts in helping non-profit health care organizations develop sustainable business models.”

    —Bruce Siegel, MD, President and CEO, National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems

  • “Health Business Group brings a unique combination of high strategy and practical advice to every engagement. We have worked with them on a number of engagements and have always been impressed at their attention to detail and focus on value.”

    —Micky Tripathi, former President and CEO, Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative


Differentiation

We combine seasoned healthcare judgment with modern evidence and AI to help leaders make better growth and investment decisions. Our model is designed for speed, flexibility, and rigor, bringing senior expertise directly to the work and scaling seamlessly when stakes are highest.

Karen Donovan, Co-founder

  • 1. Senior Expertise, Directly Applied

    No junior staffing. No dilution.

    Our consultants average 15+ years of deep healthcare experience and bring extensive professional networks. Senior team members personally design the research, collect the data, and perform the analysis, supported by advanced analytics and AI, not handed off to junior teams.

  • 2. A Model Trusted by Former Big-Firm Partners

    Built by and for experienced advisors.

    Many of our clients are former partners at leading consulting firms. They recognize the advantage of our model: senior judgment, faster insight generation, and modern analytical and AI-enabled workflows without the overhead or inertia of large firms.

  • 3. Optimized for Speed and Flexibility

    Always ready for high-stakes moments.

    We actively manage capacity across long-term retainers, medium-term strategy engagements, and rapid-turnaround diligence work. This balanced portfolio allows us to deploy teams quickly, absorb urgent requests, and maintain consistent senior attention.

  • 4. Right-Sized, High-Impact Teams

    Assembled for your question, not our leverage model.

    Engagements are staffed with right-sized teams of three to four senior consultants, tailored to the work at hand. When specialized expertise is needed, we draw from a trusted network of former colleagues and experts who are fully integrated into our AI-enabled research and delivery model.

  • 5. Primary Research at the Core

    Where differentiated insight is created.

    We place a major emphasis on primary data gathering, using experience, relationships, and judgment to access perspectives others can’t. Our teams combine direct interviews, fieldwork, and expert conversations to surface insights that go beyond surface-level data.

  • 6. Hypotheses First. Evidence Always.

    AI-accelerated, human-validated insight.

    We use secondary sources and proprietary databases to form hypotheses and build a foundation of knowledge. Those hypotheses are then tested, refined, and validated through direct discussions, with AI accelerating pattern recognition and synthesis — and senior judgment ensuring relevance and accuracy.