Episode 19: "Merging Health Policies with Innovations for Better Healthcare" | Robert Longyear, Wanderly
July 15, 2020
Robert Longyear is the vice president of the digital health and innovations at Avenu and Wanderly. He is
also the author of Innovating for Wellness. Wanderly is an online marketplace made for healthcare
professionals to compare travel healthcare jobs from leading agencies.
In this episode of the HealthTech Hustle, Robert shares details of how they saw the need to start
Wanderly and later built Avenu to better provide healthcare services using technology. Listen in to hear
how personal reasons drove Robert to write his book ‘Innovating for Wellness’ to better illustrate the
need for technology in delivering healthcare.
“I got very interested in how we can navigate the system, coordinate better, and provide better
overall experiences for patients.”
Who is Robert Longyear and what does he do at Wanderly and Avenu? [0:39]
He wrote his book Innovating for Wellness that explores the intersection between health policy and
innovations that occur in the payment side of healthcare. Wanderly is a marketplace for contingent
healthcare staffing. Health practitioners use it to transparently look for jobs in invitation facilities across
the country. It has improved the stringent market and become a friend to nurses who come to the site
looking for an evaluation of pay packages and decide where they want their next assignment to be. Out
of Wanderly, they built Avenu, a company that will partner with physicians’ practices and health systems
to better reach homes to provide services if they have the connections and the technologies to do that.
They wanted to help health workers to cut down the paperwork and manual processes to increase the
speed of the market and access to the healthcare workforce.
Would you say that Wanderly is a platform that facilitates the process of job seekers and recruiters
connecting? [6:38]
It is a transparent and independent marketplace where they allow job seekers and recruiters to come
from both ends with guaranteed information security. They cater to both supply and demand.
What strategy are they using to go out and look for people who are seeking jobs or clinics looking for
workers? [7:21]
They work with staffing agencies that have contracts with hospitals and allow them to come to that
recruiter side of the platform. They bring their recruiters’ profiles on the platform and for the nurses,
they made things as friendly and as transparent as possible. The platform is a good resource for people
and they feel secure in it.
How did he put his team together? [9:15]
They have a CEO with a tech background and handles the necessary technical discussions and also have
business knowledge. They have a board member who has been in healthcare systems for a long time
and provides strategic guidance. They also have a chief nurse advocate who handles marketing and
social media presence which is where they connect with millennial nurse users and maintain a following.
Robert helps with the health service side of the business and digital health knowledge.
What is included in the digital book he wrote? [13:36]
He started writing the book almost a year ago when thinking about care management and the
information needed to facilitate that while considering moving from volume to value. He came up with
the points where technology is being inserted into healthcare. He talked to people with different
perspectives on key innovations. He merged healthcare policy with innovations to accomplish these
goals. He took the risk of turning his thesis into this innovative book. He used his story of caring for his
terminally ill mother to illustrate some areas where health innovations will bring the much-needed
change. He explains in detail how personal reasons inspired him to want to merge innovations and
healthcare policy to help people live healthily.
What advice would he give to CEOs and founders getting into the health tech space? [27:52]
Healthcare is very complex and you have to build an interdisciplinary team for support. It is not easy
agreeing with all these people but it’s more effective that way and required for long-term success.
Robert answers the rapid-fire round of questions. [30:09]
Subscribe to the podcast:
Apple Podcasts
https://apple.co/2x0G3Um
Spotify
https://spoti.fi/3dVzK4X
overall experiences for patients.”
Who is Robert Longyear and what does he do at Wanderly and Avenu? [0:39]
He wrote his book Innovating for Wellness that explores the intersection between health policy and
innovations that occur in the payment side of healthcare. Wanderly is a marketplace for contingent
healthcare staffing. Health practitioners use it to transparently look for jobs in invitation facilities across
the country. It has improved the stringent market and become a friend to nurses who come to the site
looking for an evaluation of pay packages and decide where they want their next assignment to be. Out
of Wanderly, they built Avenu, a company that will partner with physicians’ practices and health systems
to better reach homes to provide services if they have the connections and the technologies to do that.
They wanted to help health workers to cut down the paperwork and manual processes to increase the
speed of the market and access to the healthcare workforce.
Would you say that Wanderly is a platform that facilitates the process of job seekers and recruiters
connecting? [6:38]
It is a transparent and independent marketplace where they allow job seekers and recruiters to come
from both ends with guaranteed information security. They cater to both supply and demand.
What strategy are they using to go out and look for people who are seeking jobs or clinics looking for
workers? [7:21]
They work with staffing agencies that have contracts with hospitals and allow them to come to that
recruiter side of the platform. They bring their recruiters’ profiles on the platform and for the nurses,
they made things as friendly and as transparent as possible. The platform is a good resource for people
and they feel secure in it.
How did he put his team together? [9:15]
They have a CEO with a tech background and handles the necessary technical discussions and also have
business knowledge. They have a board member who has been in healthcare systems for a long time
and provides strategic guidance. They also have a chief nurse advocate who handles marketing and
social media presence which is where they connect with millennial nurse users and maintain a following.
Robert helps with the health service side of the business and digital health knowledge.
What is included in the digital book he wrote? [13:36]
He started writing the book almost a year ago when thinking about care management and the
information needed to facilitate that while considering moving from volume to value. He came up with
the points where technology is being inserted into healthcare. He talked to people with different
perspectives on key innovations. He merged healthcare policy with innovations to accomplish these
goals. He took the risk of turning his thesis into this innovative book. He used his story of caring for his
terminally ill mother to illustrate some areas where health innovations will bring the much-needed
change. He explains in detail how personal reasons inspired him to want to merge innovations and
healthcare policy to help people live healthily.
What advice would he give to CEOs and founders getting into the health tech space? [27:52]
Healthcare is very complex and you have to build an interdisciplinary team for support. It is not easy
agreeing with all these people but it’s more effective that way and required for long-term success.
Robert answers the rapid-fire round of questions. [30:09]
Subscribe to the podcast:
Apple Podcasts
https://apple.co/2x0G3Um
Spotify
https://spoti.fi/3dVzK4X
Connect with me:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RodneyHuJR
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_jrboii_
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RodneyHuJr
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodney-hu-ab7a0a16a/
Connect with Robert Longyear
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RLLongyear
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-l-longyear-iii-a8b284b9/
Innovating for Wellness Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086WT85SF/ref=dp-kindle-
redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RodneyHuJR
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_jrboii_
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RodneyHuJr
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodney-hu-ab7a0a16a/
Connect with Robert Longyear
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RLLongyear
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-l-longyear-iii-a8b284b9/
Innovating for Wellness Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086WT85SF/ref=dp-kindle-
redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1