The healthcare company’s MD for the UK and Ireland spoke about its presence in Ireland and the roles it’s looking to fill.
Optum Ireland is a healthcare technology company and part of the UnitedHealth Group. It has offices in Dublin and Letterkenny and uses development tools in AI and data science that aim to reduce the total cost of healthcare.
Erin Schmuker is the managing director of Optum Ireland and UK. She has spent her career on the business side of healthcare, becoming an expert in revenue cycle management and creating solutions in health claims administration and payments.
“I’ve also been responsible for leading the strategy and execution of next-generation health systems that deliver insights at the point of care within the clinician’s workflow,” she said.
“Along the way, I’ve held several high-level management, growth and integration roles at Optum, part of a Fortune 4 company in the US rankings.”
What does your role as managing director of Optum Ireland and UK entail?
As managing director, a large part of my responsibility is to create an environment that empowers our teams to deliver innovative solutions. That means making sure we have the right people in place, but also that they have the tools, resources and support to thrive.
Our work is complex and it touches on every part of healthcare, from improving affordability to using data to identify gaps in care. My job is to guide that vision and ensure we are continually evolving and meeting the needs of a rapidly changing healthcare landscape.
Attracting top tech talent is a huge priority for me as it’s essential to fulfilling our company’s mission – helping people live healthier lives and helping make the health system work better for everyone.
What kind of work does Optum do in Ireland?
The healthcare industry increasingly demands platform modernisation and data-driven solutions that better support patients. At Optum Ireland, we’re meeting those demands by embedding technology, developing analytics tools, modernising business operations to enhance customer experiences, and continuing to evolve our affordability agenda.
All of our data-enabled solutions are designed to reduce the cost of care, whether it’s ensuring programme integrity in large acute-care hospitals or lowering the cost of prescription medications.
What drives me personally is a firm belief that healthcare can be improved when people work together and focus on real solutions. Too often, the health system centres around the needs of payers or providers rather than patients.
One of my first jobs was auditing claims on behalf of payers and I quickly realised that one party’s revenue was another party’s expense. No one seemed to focus on the person in the middle – the patient. I believe we can bridge those gaps by focusing on solutions that benefit everyone.
Our work is mission-driven, and I often remind people, a career with us means applying your skills where it truly matters. Whether you’re developing analytics that help prevent illness, creating interventions to improve health outcomes or making care more affordable, you’re part of something bigger – helping people live healthier lives.
What kind of roles are you looking to fill right now?
We are focused specifically on technology and analytics. We know that the pharmacy is the most utilised touchpoint in healthcare in the US, so individuals with a background in pharma or knowledge of the pharmacy landscape would be of high interest for us.
We’re also looking for skills that are applicable across all lines of business, which would include data analytics, data science and data engineering.
Those are some of the most in-demand skill sets here, but you don’t have to have a healthcare background in order to be successful. Some of our most successful leaders here have no prior health industry experience. Proven experience as a problem-solver is more important to us than having a healthcare background.
What skills are growing in importance right now?
We need team members who are adept at unlocking the value of healthcare data, who are passionate about using data to improve lives.
As we invest in innovative technologies such as advanced analytics and AI, we need people experienced in cybersecurity, not necessarily just cybersecurity experts, but technologists who have experience weaving security principles into all roles.
We are also looking for people who understand cloud infrastructure – those who can develop, manage and optimise cloud-enabled systems to meet the needs of today’s health system and those of the future.
What are the biggest workforce trends affecting the industry?
A huge trend is that of automation and AI integration. Increasingly, we are leveraging technology to modernise the way we work. We need people who can integrate that thoughtfully into the healthcare landscape.
Another focus is to ensure that our employees have positive experiences at our company. We care very deeply about someone’s ability to grow in their career. We have a saying here: ‘Hire to retire’. People can enter our workforce and grow their careers here through the support and professional development opportunities we provide. We offer hybrid work where possible and family-friendly policies designed to adapt to changing needs throughout a person’s career.
Today’s workers also value a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. We believe a diverse and inclusive workforce drives innovation and creativity, and we actively encourage everyone to be their authentic selves at work.
We are equally committed to supporting diversity in higher education in Ireland. Optum has benefited greatly from the tremendous talent of the workforce here.
And so, together with the support of UnitedHealth Group, we are giving back by funding a scholarship programme to cultivate a health workforce that reflects our diverse society and supports students to go to university to study healthcare or emerging technologies.
What advice would you give someone looking to apply for a job at Optum?
I would tell anyone who would like to work at the intersection of healthcare and technology, especially in data skills, to stay abreast of industry trends and tailor your application to specific roles.
Demonstrate your ability to solve problems. If you have great tech and problem-solving skills, we need you. And we have much to offer you on your career journey.
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