The Integration Is the Innovation | Jeff Birkeland (SVP of Product at Included Health)

CRAFTED. | The Tech Podcast for Founders, Makers, and Innovators

Jeff Birkeland is the SVP of Product and Platform at Included Health, a company that aims to be the app on your phone that you first think of when you have a healthcare need.

On this episode of CRAFTED., we explore why “the integration itself is the innovation.”

Included Health has more than 2,000 employees across both technology and clinical care, and its services are used by many top companies and their employees. The goal: create an integrated experience that brings it all together… from insurance to diet to doctors to drugs and more…

The disjointed nature of healthcare is something Jeff has experienced personally. Such as when he asked his surgeon about food: “ He told me directly like, ‘Hey, the dietician stuff is not my thing…’ Our challenge at Included health is how do we make those connections?”

To make those connections, Jeff relies on skills he learned before he got into product: He used to make documentaries. We'll hear how Jeff applies this power of narrative at Included Health and at Headspace, where he used to lead the consumer product team.

Takeaways from this episode:

• Often, the “integration itself is the innovation.”
• Consider the “in-between” times: What is your user doing before and after they use your product? What should they do?
• Personalization: How small product details for you add up to a great product experience
• GenAI: How to build and test new AI-powered experiences
• Speed matters: the quicker you make something, the more your user will want to do it (an old lesson from Google, that also applies at Included and many more things)

Key Moments:

• (02:35) - “Like a movie” — How Jeff applies his storytelling skills to user experience
• (03:58) - Consider the “in-between moments” – What is your user doing before and after they use your app? And how Jeff applied this thinking at Headspace
• (05:42) - “The dietician stuff is not my thing,” said Jeff’s surgeon. Included Health is trying to prevent its members from that sort of disjointed experience
• (08:12) - Lessons from leading the consumer product team at Headspace
• (11:10) - About Included Health and what is surprising Jeff about healthcare innovation
• (14:34) - Personalization: How Included Health is creating personalized experiences to serve members better
• (18:30) - AI and product development: experimenting with using AI to answer members’ questions about their insurance coverage
• (21:49) - Evaluating the AI product and considering whether it’s ready for a wider roll out
• (23:38) - Outro

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CRAFTED. is produced by Modern Product Minds, where CRAFTED. host Dan Blumberg and team can help you take a new product from zero to one... and beyond. We specialize in early stage product discovery, growth, and experimentation.

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