Our Story
Health Business Group is a leading healthcare business consulting firm advising companies, non-profits and investors in healthcare services, health information technology, and pharmaceutical services. Our client service professionals average more than 15 years of healthcare strategy consulting, industry and start-up experience. We are passionate about helping our clients succeed.
Case Studies
Partners HealthCare. Too big to succeed?
Question: How do you know when a non-profit healthcare organization is getting too big? Answer: When it’s considering spending over $100 million to change its name. Partners HealthCare was founded in 1994 when Massachusetts General Hospital and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital decided to team up (“partner”) to defend themselves against Blue Cross and Harvard Read More
The United Provinces of Canada (at least on healthcare)
Happy Canada Day! We usually think of Canada as a divided nation, with the province of Quebec perennially at odds with the rest of the county and threatening to secede. I was in Montreal over the weekend and it’s fair to say there wasn’t much evidence of enthusiasm for the upcoming Canada Day (the rough Read More
Should ICER be NICER? The case for analyzing the value of drugs
The headline in today’s Boston Globe —Price watchdog’s influence on drug makers expands; As nonprofit assesses treatments, some fear it inhibits key options— could have been written by a drug industry lobbyist. [And maybe it was, since the online headline instead uses the squeaky phrase ‘mouse that roared.’] The article itself is more balanced. Of Read More
Consultant Profiles
David E. Williams
David E. Williams is President of the Health Business Group, a consulting firm that helps technology-enabled healthcare, medical device and pharmaceutical companies develop and execute innovative business strategies.
Karen Donovan has held several senior strategic and operating roles at healthcare services, healthcare software, and consulting firms.
Trevor McCaw is an experienced consultant, entrepreneur and Fortune 500 manager, with substantial expertise in healthcare services, information technology and medical devices.
John Seus has 20 years of healthcare industry and consulting experience. He started his career in pharmaceutical R&D at Procter & Gamble.
Dan Segal was a co-founder of Brain Resource Ltd, an ASX/OTC listed neuroscience company, and was a Board member and its COO/CFO for the last 15 years.
Tracy Weber joined Health Business Group (HBG) in 2011 and has 20+ years of strategic and operational experience. For 15 years, she has worked as a strategy consultant serving clients in the healthcare, technology, and private equity sectors. Earlier, she worked at Fortune 500 technology companies.
Mack Amaker has provided and directed business process and technical consulting services for more than 20 years.
Claudia Palme is a senior advisor in the global Life Sciences and Health Care industry, based in Dubai, UAE. Her engagements focus on new business models, emerging markets’ expansion in the Middle East and Africa, growth and restructuring strategy, European and MEA market access and investment advisory.
Eric Zimmerman has 20+ years of experience in the design and commercialization of digital health and live solutions for leading population health, patient engagement and care collaboration companies, Eric has held leadership positions at RedBrick, Mirixa, RelayHealth, Medscape and J&J.
Rick has over 25 years of technology, healthcare, startup, and strategy consulting experience. He began his post-graduate career working for The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in the high-technology and healthcare strategy groups.
Heidi Schwartz has experience conducting research with education and healthcare consumers, providers, and organizations. She started her career in pharmaceutical market research with Strategic Marketing Corporation.
Health Business Blog
You’ve come a long way baby! And thanks to Ovia, your mom’s employer knows all about it
April 25, 2019The Denver Post (Tracking your pregnancy on an app may be more public than you think) has published an interesting and disturbing article about the rise of Ovia, an app that collects detailed and personal data from pregnant women and those hoping to conceive. I’m not surprised that the business model is to provide data Read More
Social network for cancer patients: Interview with Belong’s CTO Irad Deutsch
October 2, 2018Belong.life bills itself as the largest social network for cancer patients and caregivers. With over 100,000 participants, Belong is approaching the scale at which it can generate meaningful insights, and leverage machine learning and artificial intelligence to create a “hyper-personalized” experience. I spoke recently with Irad Deutsch, Chief Technology Officer. He described how his personal experience Read More
Webinar
Home health: Opportunities for ACOs, health plans and investors
Health Business Group clients and consultants present an insightful webinar on the strategic potential of home care.
Register NowTestimonials
“Health Business Group delivers a unique blend of industry knowledge, primary data gathering prowess, analytical rigor, and creative, yet practical solutions to healthcare 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, Hartford, CT
“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 healthcare 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 HealthCare Research & Policy, Case Western Reserve University. President, Better Health Greater Cleveland
"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 Marketing Officer, RedBrick Health, Minneapolis, MN
"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 and CEO, inVentiv Health, New York, NY
"Karen has been an advocate and board member for our company for the past two 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 Inc., Waltham, MA
“Health Business Group has a tremendous depth of expertise in the healthcare technology sector. The principals are extremely action oriented and can quickly develop plans that are both easy to deploy as well as useful for gaining Board of Directors alignment on key strategic investment decisions. I’ve been particularly impressed with the ability of the Health Business Group to staff projects with small ‘strike’ teams with consulting and operational experts and quickly develop well-articulated and analytically rigorous go/no go recommendations. Most importantly, the teams can identify highly industry specific challenges that would not be obvious from any research reports or discussions with industry participants who are maintaining the party line.”
Mikael Totterman, Chairman and CEO, Cleriovision, Rochester, NY
“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, Boston, MA
“Candescent Partners has engaged Health Business Group both for third-party due diligence and strategic consulting in our healthcare service portfolio companies. Grounded in their deep knowledge and experience in the sector, their advice has been intelligent, responsive and influential in our decision making. They appreciate the entrepreneurial character of the enterprises we are acquiring and tailor their consulting to meet the needs of our portfolio companies. We will continue to work with Health Business Group as a preferred consulting partner in the healthcare service arena.”
Alexander (Sandy) S. McGrath, Managing Partner, Candescent Partners, Boston, MA
"David and his team are experts in helping non-profit healthcare organizations develop sustainable business models."
Bruce Siegel, MD, President and CEO, National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, Washington, DC
“Of the last 10 years on the board of Hearts & Noses Hospital Clown Troupe David Williams has served 4 years as chair. Under his strong leadership we have been able to significantly expand our services of bedside visits of medical clowns to hospitalized children. Through his valuable contributions in business and strategic planning he has been instrumental in the development of a number of new programs. Beyond his business expertise David has a keen understanding of how well trained medical clowns benefit hospitalized children, balancing the sometimes odd world of troupe business, while supporting the training and creativity of the clowns and the profound needs of the children we visit.”
Cheryl Lekousi, Executive & Artistic Director, Hearts & Noses Hospital Clown Troupe, Needham, MA
“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 healthcare 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 since 2006. They have been extremely valuable partners for Stonehenge and our portfolio companies. They have a deep knowledge and understanding of the healthcare 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, Stonehenge Growth Capital, New York NY
“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, President and CEO, Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative
“We have used Health Business Group to help in our strategic planning process. David Williams and Karen Donovan interviewed our broad set of stakeholders and were able to synthesize input and frame strategic options for our board in a clear and concise way. Karen also led two workshops to help earn the trust of stakeholders and to gain their commitment to advance our organizational goals. Health Business Group’s ability to format and communicate information is exceptional!”
Reneé Frazier, CEO, Healthy Memphis Common Table
“Health Business Group helped APS transform itself into a high-growth company with a powerful business model. Their strategic insights, business development skills and organizational savvy have been invaluable.”