Navigating Both Sides of Healthcare: Why I Started CoView

How Navigating My Health Journey Inspired CoView

I have spent decades working in healthcare technology, but it wasn't until I became a patient that I truly understood how broken the system can feel.

From the Inside: My Background

With over two decades in healthcare spanning provider, payer, and health tech sectors, I've supported hundreds of organizations and led initiatives in product, operations, and strategy. My experience includes building solutions, optimizing processes, and enhancing team performance. However, the most profound shift in my perspective came when I experienced the healthcare system as a patient.

Living with dysautonomia and mast cell activation syndrome gave me a front-row seat to just how confusing, fragmented, and frustrating the healthcare system can be, even for someone who knows it inside and out. While navigating my health journey, I was completing an MBA, focusing on healthcare. That experience became deeply personal. I used my studies to explore the problems real patients face and to dig into how the system could do better.

I had thought about starting my own business for years, but it never felt like the right time. It wasn't until I experienced the system as a patient that everything clicked. I saw a need and knew I had the tools to help. The combination of my lived experience and system expertise led to the launch of CoView Consulting to help others navigate the system more clearly, confidently, and with less stress.

Becoming the Patient

I had a diagnosis no one could see, and it began affecting every part of my life.

Living with dysautonomia and mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) felt like my body was constantly malfunctioning for no obvious reason. Long before I was officially diagnosed, I had been living with symptoms for most of my life—irregular heart rate, dizziness, digestive issues, chronic pain, extreme fatigue, and unpredictable allergic reactions. On the outside, I looked completely fine.

For years, I managed to push through. But over time, the symptoms intensified, and managing them alone became impossible.

I went from traditional specialist to specialist, test after test, often having to explain my symptoms in a way that only I understood or, worse, having them dismissed altogether. Standard medical tests were not designed to detect my condition and therefore they were largely irrelevant. The care was fragmented, and communication was poor. I realized I must be more assertive and proactive in my care and coordination.

Coordinating My Own Care

I began tracking my medical records and test results more closely, following up on authorizations, and coordinating across disconnected providers. I learned to be more assertive, sometimes adjusting my language to fit what the system would hear. I found myself saying things like, "Please don't factor in insurance reimbursement when developing my treatment plan." I was exhausted not only by symptoms but also by the work it took to be heard and treated.

I also had to keep detailed notes because sometimes weeks or even months would pass between appointments, and no one else was keeping track of the whole picture. I found myself researching treatments, flagging gaps in care, and sometimes initiating referrals. I connected the dots, navigating symptoms and systems, and constantly communicating with providers.

It wasn't just about managing my condition. It was about managing a system where only I could remember every detail, and in some instances, direct my own care. (I understand that we must be in charge of our care and advocate for ourselves, but many patients trust their providers and the system to guide and direct them entirely.) I felt stuck, discouraged, and helpless. I didn't expect that I would have to captain this ship.

How Does a Patient Navigate This?

What stayed with me the most was that I wasn't just a patient but an expert. I understood why claims were denied, how systems failed to communicate, why providers are limited in their decisions, and that organizations are short-staffed and wear multiple hats, creating more barriers. I helped build some of these systems and understood the historical background and why there are workflow issues. If it's this hard for someone like me, how does someone who doesn't understand this get the help they need?

(I want to acknowledge that many physicians and care teams I've worked with have been incredible. But they work within a system that often makes care harder to deliver.)

Navigating my own medical diagnosis while concurrently earning my MBA provided a deeply personal and immediate context for my academic work. My MBA studies in healthcare delivery and regulation involved a deep dive into policies such as the No Surprises Act, designed to shield patients, and high-deductible health plans, aimed at encouraging greater patient engagement with healthcare decisions and costs. Despite these intentions, I found the practical application often had unintended consequences. My research underscored this, as I wrote in one paper: 'The actual effect of this model is that it discourages patients from going to the doctor for fear of complexity or medical debt.' Complexities in the system contribute to patients avoiding treatment, confusion, and potentially unanticipated medical balances.

That fear is real. I lived it. I saw that it was confirmed in the data that two in five adults delay care because they can't afford it. It's a terrifying statistic when you're living with a chronic condition.

What stood out most was that our healthcare system assumes patients can navigate it. They should understand billing codes, deductibles, prior authorizations, and speak the language (medical terminology). Most don't, and truthfully, they shouldn't have to.

That experience not only informed the mission of CoView, but it became its heartbeat. 

Healthcare needs more than strategy and operations support. We need the ability to fix things from the inside. We must also educate patients to speak the language and empower them with the tools to navigate their healthcare.

My journey has made me even more determined to improve the system! Some people see these problems as stumbling blocks, I see them as stepping stones.

What's Ahead

In the weeks ahead, I'll share tools, insights, and plain-language breakdowns to help simplify healthcare communications, from acronyms and terms, cross-team tips and collaboration, to patient support.

Whether you're a healthcare team trying to untangle messy workflows or a patient trying to make sense of your care, you deserve support and don't have to do it alone.

If this post resonated with you, whether you're building healthcare solutions or navigating your diagnosis, I'd love to hear from you.

Reach out, share your story, or follow along as we continue unpacking the complexity together. I truly believe that patients can be empowered, healthcare teams can be more effective, and clarity is always possible.

Thanks for being here. This is just the beginning, and I’m so glad you’re part of the journey.

Thanks for reading,

Bonnie