In celebration of Availity’s 25th anniversary, we’re highlighting associates whose impact and dedication have helped shape who we are today. Through this special Associate Spotlight series, we’re honoring the people behind our story—past, present, and future.
In this Q&A, we’re proud to spotlight Dave, who shares reflections on his journey, the moments that mattered most, and what continues to inspire him as part of Availity.
When did you join Availity, what was your first role, and what do you remember most about your first year?
I joined Availity as a software developer in November 1999. The first project I worked on was programming smart cards. The concept at the time was that every health plan member would receive a smart card that contained their healthcare records and payment information on the card. The physician’s offices would have card readers, which they could use to immediately access a patient’s health information, contribute to it, and collect payment at the visit.
What’s kept you here the longest?
While I’m proud of our purpose and what we bring to healthcare, it’s the people I work with who have kept me here. We have a “no person left behind” mentality, as everyone is always willing to assist by dropping what they’re doing to help another person. I’m a much better person to have worked at Availity because of the people I work with. I’ve been stretched and challenged in ways that have made me grow. I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by very talented, thoughtful, and caring individuals. They inspire and motivate me, and hopefully I can give back in the same way.
How has your job changed since you started?
When I started as a software developer, I worked on individual assignments and sat in a cubicle where I rarely interacted with anyone on projects except my manager. We were one big group of developers, and while I occasionally worked with another developer, there was no concept of working on separate development teams focused on dedicated areas. As I’ve transitioned over the years into my existing role, I now collaborate and interact constantly with many cross-functional teams at a less technical level. Rather than work in development tools on a single project, I now work with many people, balancing many projects.
What are you most proud of from your time at Availity?
The recent migration to AWS Cloud would certainly be at the top of the list. It was the largest initiative I’ve been part of at this organization. It was extremely difficult and challenging, both from a technical implementation and a cross-functional coordination perspective. It has impacted every part of the organization, and I’m proud of the determination, commitment, and resilience demonstrated by individuals and our teams.
What’s a time Availity’s reliability or recovery made a difference (for a provider, plan, or patient experience)?
The Change Healthcare event stands out to me as one of the largest impacts Availity made on the healthcare industry. For many healthcare organizations, Availity’s involvement was instrumental in ensuring that healthcare providers could maintain business continuity and that they ran smoothly. By supporting their administration of backend business operations, Availity allowed providers to focus attention on patient care rather than operational disruptions. Our quick response during this event played a crucial role in saving many healthcare businesses from potential setbacks. We not only benefited individual providers but also helped preserve the overall functionality of the healthcare industry during a very challenging period.
When you think about our Core Values, which one resonates the most with you and which do you think will propel us through the next 25 years?
Reflecting on our history, “Do the Right Thing” resonates with me most as I believe we’ve always placed users of our systems and our payer customers at the forefront when it comes to service, experience, protection, and stability. We do this because making them successful in their respective areas of responsibility brings the most benefit to patients, whom we ultimately aim to positively impact.
What will propel us is to “Explore Fearlessly” as we have continually evolved as an organization. I think in every area of the organization, you see a theme of “improvement” and always challenging ourselves with how we can get better. We’re relentless with this, and the use of AI will accelerate that.
What are three words you’d use to describe Availity today?
Resilient, Relentless, Determined.
What’s one “tiny way” your team removes friction from healthcare that most people never see?
The information our teams provide in the form of eligibility and benefits or claim status answers many questions needed by provider offices and hospitals. It’s crucial we provide this information in a timely manner because it significantly impacts their internal office workflows on how to best service patients during their care. Providing this information upfront in a timely manner eliminates delays and reduces issues following a patient’s visit.
Thank you, Dave, for your dedication and the impact you’ve made in helping shape Availity’s story over the past 25 years!