At Machinify, we don’t just accept things as they are, we question them. That’s why I’m excited to talk about one of our company’s core values: Ask Why. It’s more than a value. It’s a mindset, a method, and a commitment to always move forward.
But before diving in, let’s explore why it’s important to ask why. Meta, I know.
Why “Ask Why” Matters
Values are more than words on a wall. They serve the crucial purpose of helping us make better decisions. When we’re faced with two equally promising paths, our values guide us toward the option that aligns best with who we are and where we want to go.
So how does “Asking Why” help us move forward? Well, we don’t just take things at face value—we get to the root of the problem. In healthcare payment integrity and healthcare data management (areas where Machinify leads the charge) specifically, there’s ample room to grow. However, innovation requires a deep understanding of why processes and methods used today exist. If you don’t ask why, you can’t understand the fundamentals necessary to challenge the status quo. Asking why is how breakthroughs happen.
Innovation Starts with Curiosity
At Machinify, we’re doing what was once deemed impossible: extracting structured, usable healthcare data from decades of messy, inconsistent medical records. It’s not magic, it’s hard, methodical work, powered by leading-edge large language models (LLMs) and a relentless belief in innovation.
Turning gigabytes of bad PDFs, poor scans, and faxed, handwritten documents into actionable healthcare data is a transformational leap on par with the invention of the spreadsheet in the 1970s. And it’s happening because our engineers, data scientists, customer success teams, and analysts keep asking why:
- Why is this data inaccessible?
- Why can’t existing tools solve it?
- Why can’t we be the ones to figure it out?
Each time someone asked why and refused to accept the easy answers, we made progress. We unlocked solutions that others didn’t see.
Strength in Diverse Perspectives
Another essential reason we “Ask Why” is that Machinify is a fusion of four industry-leading companies and incredible talent. Each legacy group brings a unique approach, a distinct way of solving the complex puzzles that define payment integrity and healthcare data mining.
As we come together, we must stay open to learning from each other. No matter how long we’ve been here, every colleague offers new insights that can and should change the way we think and work.
- Why do our Data Mining Solutions teams take specific approaches to identifying medical billing errors, and how can that be helpful for other teams?
- Why are our Pharmacy Coordination of Benefits experts able to identify important patterns more quickly than our competitors?
By asking why, we ensure we’re always learning, evolving, and building a stronger future together.
Challenging the Status Quo
The healthcare industry desperately needs change. It’s weighed down by outdated processes, legacy adjudication systems, and inefficiencies that drive up costs for providers, payers, and patients alike.
If we want to truly disrupt this system (and we do), we can’t be satisfied with “the way things have always been done.” We have to poke at our own assumptions. We have to question our own best practices. We have to be willing to ask why at every stage.
Asking why isn’t about criticism for its own sake—it’s about uncovering better ways, about staying uncomfortable enough to keep innovating. It’s how we future-proof healthcare payment processes and deliver on our mission to drive down healthcare costs for everyone.
Stay Curious, Stay Bold
In a fast-changing field like healthcare AI, curiosity isn’t optional—it’s the engine of survival. The moment we stop asking why, we stop leading.
So my challenge to all of you is this:
- Stay curious.
- Question assumptions.
- Keep digging. Keep pushing. Keep asking.
Why? Because every time we ask why, we uncover the potential to make things better, not just for ourselves, but for the entire healthcare system. And, if we keep asking the right questions, we won’t just participate in the industry’s transformation, we’ll lead it.
Want to see how Machinify puts our values into action? We’d love to show you. Contact us to get started.