As the COO of Valify, Jessica Burns’ role is multifaceted and centers around driving operational excellence across the organization. She manages Valify’s strategic roadmaps, financials, and internal processes to ensure alignment with business objectives. This includes streamlining client delivery, data management, business intelligence functions, client onboarding, service level agreements, and quality assurance. Burns is also heavily focused on automating their operational and client delivery processes, which allows Valify to provide rapid and valuable insights into non-labor cost management for clients. By fostering an environment of continuous improvement, she ensures that operational efficiency and client success remain at the forefront of Valify’s initiatives.
What is a recent or current project you’ve been excited to work on?
One of the most exciting projects we have recently undertaken at Valify is integrating AI into our application. We have been training our large language model (LLM) to provide our clients with the ability to rapidly generate data insights on their purchased services spend. This project is transforming how our clients can quickly access and interpret their spending data, enabling them to identify cost-saving opportunities more efficiently. It has been incredibly rewarding to see how this integration enhances their ability to manage non-labor costs effectively.
How has the category of purchased services changed over the last few years? Why is power benchmarking so important for today’s health systems?
In the last few years, especially post-pandemic, there has been more awareness of the significant portion of overall healthcare spending on purchased services, which often accounts for nearly 50% of an organization’s non-labor expenditures. With the complexities in contracts and service requirements, healthcare organizations have recognized the need for continuous monitoring and benchmarking. Power benchmarking is crucial because it allows health systems to compare their spending against industry standards, identify inefficiencies, and make data-driven decisions to ensure their expenditures align with current needs and market conditions. This ongoing evaluation is essential to optimizing costs and dedicating more resources to patient care.
What industry-level trends are you keeping an eye on as we head into the close of 2024 and beginning of 2025?
As we approach 2025, Valify is particularly focused on the expanding role of AI and data analytics in healthcare cost management. AI is becoming a transformative force, allowing healthcare organizations to rapidly analyze large volumes of data, uncover spending patterns, and make more informed strategic decisions. We are also monitoring advancements in automation. These technologies can significantly enhance operational efficiencies and improve data quality by quickly identifying inconsistencies or errors in our clients’ data, allowing for more accurate insights and optimized decision-making. Additionally, with the ongoing focus on reducing healthcare costs, there is a push toward more dynamic, real-time data analysis, helping organizations adapt to market changes quickly. These trends will continue to shape the landscape of cost management and operational strategy in the healthcare industry.
When it comes to diversity in the U.S. healthcare supply chain workforce, has the industry improved since you started your career? If so, in what ways? And, what work remains to be done?
There have been significant improvements in diversity within the healthcare supply chain workforce, with more women and individuals from various backgrounds taking on leadership roles. Organizations are increasingly recognizing the value that diverse perspectives bring to strategic decision-making, innovation, and operational efficiency. However, there is still work to be done to ensure diversity extends across all levels, from entry-level to executive leadership positions. Ongoing efforts are needed to create inclusive environments where diverse talent can thrive and contribute to driving the industry forward.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
The best piece of advice I received early in my career was to be “confident yet humble.” This principle has guided me through many challenging situations, reminding me to lead with conviction while staying open to learning and collaboration. This advice was given to me by a CIO who deeply believed in the power of servant leadership and emphasized the importance of leading by serving others. He encouraged every manager in the organization to undergo servant leadership training, emphasizing the importance of leading by serving others. Inspired by this guidance, I later took on the role of teaching servant leadership at a local university. This approach has shaped my leadership style, reinforcing the idea that success in healthcare is achieved not just through strategic decisions, but also by nurturing and empowering those around us.
Provided by The Journal of Healthcare Contracting, Dec. 2024 Edition: Women Leaders in Supply Chain.
Our clients are at the heart of everything we do. This summit demonstrates how we build strong, collaborative relationships with clients and how we go beyond our solutions to provide actionable insights to healthcare leaders,” said Les Popiolek, Chief Executive Officer at Valify.
