Operations, IT, and Marcom: Natural Enemies or Collaborators?
Why do so many healthcare initiatives—no matter how well-funded or data-driven—fail to change patient behavior?
Healthcare organizations invest heavily in marketing to drive patient demand—but too often, the systems responsible for converting that demand into care are disconnected, inefficient, or working at cross purposes.
In this episode of the Healthcare Success Podcast, I’m joined by my good friend Nicole Vafadari, founder of Doret Consulting, to explore one of the most persistent—and often frustrating—challenges in healthcare: the disconnect between marketing, operations, and IT.
From missed calls and outdated scheduling workflows to EMR limitations and siloed decision-making, we unpack why the patient access experience continues to break down—and where healthcare organizations are leaving significant growth on the table.
A central theme of our conversation is this: healthcare organizations don’t have a demand problem—they have an access and alignment problem. Driving more patients into a broken system only amplifies friction. Real growth happens when marketing, operations, and IT work together to create a seamless, patient-centered experience.
We also explore how organizations can begin to break down silos, including the importance of involving marketing earlier in system decisions, using data to drive change, and aligning around shared goals instead of competing priorities.
Finally, we discuss what it takes to turn these traditionally siloed departments into true collaborators—from rethinking internal processes to leveraging technology in a way that actually supports both patients and teams.
Why Listen?
If you’re a healthcare marketer, CMO, operations leader, or executive trying to improve patient access, increase conversion, or better align your teams, this episode offers practical, real-world insight.
You’ll hear:
• Why marketing, operations, and IT often work at cross purposes
• How siloed systems create friction in the patient journey
• Where healthcare organizations lose revenue due to access barriers
• How data can be used to connect outreach to scheduling and outcomes
• Why online scheduling and call center optimization are critical
• How leading organizations are beginning to break down silos and improve performancers
Key Insights and Takeaways
- Healthcare growth is limited more by access than demand. Many organizations successfully generate patient interest, but fail to convert it due to poor access experiences. Friction in scheduling, long wait times, and disconnected systems push patients to seek care elsewhere.
- Siloed teams create fragmented patient experiences. Marketing, operations, and IT often operate independently, each optimizing for their own goals. But patients experience the system as one unified journey—and when those teams aren’t aligned, the experience breaks down.
- Misaligned incentives drive internal conflict. Marketing is tasked with driving demand, operations is focused on capacity, and IT is managing complexity and security. Without shared goals, these priorities can conflict and create unintended consequences.
- Data can be a powerful tool for breaking down resistance. When organizations use both qualitative and quantitative data to show lost revenue, patient frustration, and missed opportunities, it becomes easier to align stakeholders and drive change.
- Online scheduling and access improvements drive measurable ROI. Removing barriers to scheduling and making it easier for patients to access care can lead to significant increases in appointments, conversion rates, and overall revenue.
6. The patient doesn’t see your silos.
Patients don’t care about internal structures, physician group distinctions, or system limitations—they expect a seamless, consistent experience. Organizations that fail to deliver this risk confusion, frustration, and lost trust.
7. Cross-functional collaboration is the real unlock.
The most successful healthcare organizations bring marketing, operations, and IT together—not just in execution, but in planning and strategy—creating shared accountability for outcomes.
8. Small operational changes can have outsized impact.
Improving call center workflows, aligning messaging with service line needs, or introducing targeted outreach can unlock significant growth without massive new investments.
9. Technology alone won’t solve the problem.
New tools and platforms are only effective when paired with the right strategy, governance, and collaboration. Without alignment, technology can add complexity instead of solving it
Nicole Vafadari
Founder, Doret ConsultingSubscribe for More
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Note: The following AI-generated transcript is provided as an additional resource for those who prefer not to listen to the podcast recording. It has been lightly edited and reviewed for readability and accuracy.
Read the Full Transcript
Stewart Gandolf (Healthcare Success): Hello and welcome to the Health Care Success podcast. And today I get to interview a friend again, Nicole Vafadari. And I think you're gonna agree she's awesome. And I can't wait to talk about this topic today. Operations, IT and Marcoms. Are they natural enemies or co-collaborators? First of all, welcome Nicole.
Nicole Vafadari (Doret Consulting): Thank you so much for having me, Stewart. This is awesome. I'm so excited.
Stewart Gandolf (Healthcare Success): Me too, I've been waiting to—that's been on my list. I have a spreadsheet of all my speakers. That headline is so much fun, I just could not wait to do today, not to mention the fact that I know you and I get to see your kids on LinkedIn and all that.
Nicole Vafadari (Doret Consulting): I mean, yeah, it brings the drama—speaking of my kids, my daughter's in theater—and it brings the drama of setting the stage for a relationship that I think can be just exponentially beneficial to any healthcare system.
Stewart Gandolf (Healthcare Success): Great. Before we get into it—not as a plug so much, just as a way to help people get a grounding on what it is you do—why don't you give me a little bit of what your company is and what you do?
Nicole Vafadari (Doret Consulting): Sure. At Doret Consulting, we are a healthcare-first, technology-agnostic consulting firm focused on improving issues of access, improving the patient experience, and reducing cost for healthcare systems. We really anchor in areas of CRM—so think about working with marketers on engagement to patients and prospects—and then also call center implementations in key areas where patients and loved ones interact with the call center outside of the four walls of the exam room.
Stewart Gandolf (Healthcare Success): Okay, that makes a lot of sense. And this topic just comes up again and again for me, Nicole, because I've been chasing trying to get people to answer their phone when we just spent money to drive phone calls—and they don't answer or they do it terribly. It's kind of exhausting. I'm still talking about this 30 years later.
There’s so much going on right now with AI, with databases, with how to use CRM better. Systems are getting more sophisticated, there are AI bots—there’s a lot going on. This is a meaty topic. I can’t talk about it enough because finally, finally, this is going to be solved, I think.
Nicole Vafadari (Doret Consulting): We're gonna do it. You and I will take on an even better topic next.
Stewart Gandolf (Healthcare Success): Okay, so I’ll set this up a little. I was at a conference—probably HMPS—and my friend Aaron Clifford from Press Ganey was asking which experience drives patients the most crazy. Nobody else answered, and I said booking their appointment—the online experience—it’s the most frustrating thing.
So in your experience, why do healthcare organizations struggle most when it comes to patient growth? Is this a major part of it?
Nicole Vafadari (Doret Consulting): I think it’s the idea that in healthcare specifically, people execute tasks within their own zone of excellence. Like, I’ll do this, then you’ll do this, and we pass things along and we will all use our expertise to execute this properly. While that’s great, there’s also this overly siloed structure.
Marketers, for example, might be asked for a billboard, when it’s much more nuanced than that. They can drive a ton of demand, but without supply, you’re just getting people to a frustrating experience faster. When systems are disconnected, you need people to operate in their lane—but also communicate outside of it.
Stewart Gandolf (Healthcare Success): That theme comes up all the time. It’s such a problem in healthcare. It’s insane—we ask people to get care and make the process as frustrating as possible. Even with call centers now, many of the same problems persist.
And EMRs haven’t solved this. They’re built for administration, not the consumer journey. Especially for new patients—nobody wants to fill out 500 questions before they even know if they like you. It breaks down everywhere.
Nicole Vafadari (Doret Consulting): Exactly. Organizations leave growth on the table because new patient experiences and existing patient experiences are completely different. You wouldn’t message a new doctor the same way you do your current one.
But often, marketing isn’t even at the table during EMR implementation. You have CIO, COO, CFO—but not marketing. And marketing is often the front door to care.
Stewart Gandolf (Healthcare Success): That’s such a recurring issue—CMOs having to justify being at the table. So let’s talk about the title: operations, IT, and marketing—natural enemies or collaborators?
Nicole Vafadari (Doret Consulting):
I think there’s hope. The conflict happens because each group has different priorities. Marketing wants demand, operations wants supply, and IT is managing a massive tech stack.
If marketing drives demand, the call center gets overwhelmed. If new tools are introduced, IT has more to manage. That workload can create frustration between teams.
But when organizations recognize that these teams can solve the problem together, that’s when things improve.
Stewart Gandolf (Healthcare Success):
And it gets more complex at scale. Health systems deal with compliance, legal, and security issues. And often, incentives are misaligned.
Nicole Vafadari (Doret Consulting):
Exactly. But it’s exciting to see marketers working more closely with service line leaders. Not replacing clinical expertise—but amplifying it.
For example, asking: if you had a personalized megaphone, what would you say to patients? Then scaling that message appropriately without oversharing or scaring people.
Stewart Gandolf (Healthcare Success):
You mentioned silos earlier—what does that look like in practice?
Nicole Vafadari (Doret Consulting):
Patients experience one system, even if internally it’s fragmented. They don’t care about different physician groups—they expect consistency.
So when departments stay in their lane too rigidly, it creates confusion and worse care experiences.
Stewart Gandolf (Healthcare Success):
We’ve seen that firsthand—even down to branding conflicts between physician groups and hospitals. It confuses patients.
Nicole Vafadari (Doret Consulting):
Exactly. And data can help break that down. For example, we worked with a physician group that refused online scheduling. When we implemented it elsewhere, we showed both revenue differences and patient frustration.
That data helped demonstrate the value and push change.
Stewart Gandolf (Healthcare Success):
You also mentioned an orthopedic campaign—what were the results there?
Nicole Vafadari (Doret Consulting):
We identified patients with joint pain who hadn’t seen an orthopedist and reached out through targeted campaigns. We drove over 2,000 appointments and saw a 7:1 return on investment.
It also helped reposition the system as a viable alternative to larger city providers.
Stewart Gandolf (Healthcare Success):
That’s powerful. Any thoughts on data and attribution?
Nicole Vafadari (Doret Consulting):
You need to understand how to connect outreach to actual encounters. Not everyone completes actions in one session—so attribution matters.
We also help clients clean up data issues like inconsistent tagging, so they can measure accurately.
Stewart Gandolf (Healthcare Success):
Let’s talk about call centers.
Nicole Vafadari (Doret Consulting):
I love call centers. We’re helping one client grow from 20 to 100 agents and implementing tools like provider finders to streamline scheduling.
We’re also helping them navigate a transition from Cerner to Epic—making sure they don’t waste effort on work that won’t carry over.
Stewart Gandolf (Healthcare Success):
And what about access challenges?
Nicole Vafadari (Doret Consulting):
Long wait times are a big issue. We’re seeing creative solutions, like peer-to-peer mentoring for patients waiting for care, which improves the experience.
Stewart Gandolf (Healthcare Success):
That’s incredible. As we wrap up, any final advice?
Nicole Vafadari (Doret Consulting):
Bring your own chair to rooms you’re not invited to. CIOs should attend marketing meetings. Marketers should engage with service lines.
And push your vendors—ask what you’re not using that could add value.
Stewart Gandolf (Healthcare Success):
That makes total sense.
If someone realizes their systems aren’t working together, what’s the first step?
Nicole Vafadari (Doret Consulting):
Start conversations internally. Engage across departments. And don’t be afraid to bring in an independent consultant to provide an unbiased perspective.
Stewart Gandolf (Healthcare Success):
That’s great. Nicole, this was so much fun. I appreciate you being here.
Nicole Vafadari (Doret Consulting):
Thank you so much for having me. This was so fun.
Stewart Gandolf (Healthcare Success):
Thank you.
