The 2023 Rising Stars of the Profession: Jared Augenstein

Jared Augenstein is a managing director with Manatt Health, an interdisciplinary policy and business advisory practice of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. He provides strategic business advice, policy design and analysis as well as project management to health care providers, health tech companies, state and local governments, foundations, and other health care organizations. Jared's primary areas of focus are advising private- and public-sector clients on health technology, telehealth, care model design and transformation, population health, federal and state health policy trends, and provider markets.

Jared has extensive experience in the digital health space, regularly advising health systems, policymakers, innovators and investors on digital health and virtual care strategy, implementation, operations and policy. Jared has published extensively in publications ranging from Harvard Business Review to Health Affairs on a range of topics related to digital transformation, telemedicine and health system strategy, including coauthoring papers with the American Medical Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, The Commonwealth Fund and others.

Representative engagements include advising many of the nation's leading health systems on strategic planning and digital transformation, supporting states in designing and implementing telehealth coverage and reimbursement policies, counseling emerging companies on go-to-market and business model strategies, and partnering with foundations and nonprofit organizations to advance their impact.

What would you say has been the biggest factor in your success so far?

For as long as I can recall, I have been interested in technology and drawn to the power of tech to deliver delightful experiences for consumers and transform entire industries. Yet we all well know from our health care experiences that the system leaves much to be desired and is one of the last industries to be disrupted by technology. The biggest factor in my success so far has been a genuine curiosity about using innovative technology to solve complex clinical and business problems for a range of clients. This curiosity has been critical in forging new client relationships, in creating novel solutions to challenging problems, and to cultivating deep relationships with our clients. I am fortunate to have received excellent mentorship from the leaders of Manatt Health's practice who have welcomed this curiosity by empowering me to build and grow our digital health practice over the past five years.

What do you enjoy most about your career in the consulting industry?

What I enjoy most about the consulting industry is the opportunity to support a wide range of clients on solving their most pressing business issues in order to realize their full individual and organizational potential. In general, organizations do not hire strategy consultants to solve routine problems that they could solve on their own. We are typically hired to solve the most challenging problems that organizations face. The opportunity to support some of the leading health care organizations in the country on solving their most pressing problems is what motivates me and is the source of my professional satisfaction. I have also found that by working through challenging issues, I often have the opportunity to build enduring relationships and even friendships with my clients, based on our shared experience working together.

What is your proudest achievement to date?

My proudest achievement to date has been growing Manatt's digital health practice over the past five years. Our digital health practice has more than tripled in size, and we look forward to continuing to grow and enhance our impact in the years ahead. I have played a key role in the growth of our practice by developing new client relationships, expanding our work in the digital health space with existing clients, developing Manatt Health's thought leadership in the digital health space, and recruiting many talented individuals to join our practice. I have the opportunity to work regularly with the leading health systems, cutting-edge startups, innovative state policymakers, and associations and foundations on developing, designing and implementing digital health strategies. In particular, I am most proud of the work we did during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to advise several of our state clients on how to rapidly expand access to telehealth services in order to ensure continued access to health care services. We worked around the clock to rapidly change long-standing policy in many states, which led to meaningfully improved health care access for millions of individuals across several states.

What's the best advice you've ever been given?

I have received a lot of excellent advice during my time at Manatt. I will mention two pieces of advice that I try to abide by each day. The first is to focus on impact. We are often faced with situations in which clients have myriad opportunities and/or challenges, many of which are operational in nature or which will require a lot of effort but won't yield a lot of value. Focusing our work and the clients on pursuing the highest-impact opportunities is something we are always striving for. Second is that having balance in a consulting career is critical. The day to day and week to week of consulting can be very intensive – and so having balance is critical for maintaining happiness at work and in life. This is something I have really come to appreciate about Manatt.

What does this recognition mean to you?

It is an honor and highlight of my career to date to have received this award. I have the privilege of working alongside incredible colleagues every day in supporting our clients who are seeking to improve the health care system. I view this recognition as validation of all the hard work that Manatt Health does day in and day out to create a more just, equitable, affordable and high-performing health care system that works for all Americans.