Thinkwell Group Retains Physician-Executive to Advise on Healthcare Market Expansion

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Thinkwell Group, a leading global experience design and production agency for theme parks, museums, cultural attractions, and retail, has engaged Steven Merahn, M.D., to advise on the expansion of Thinkwell’s expertise and capabilities in experience design into the healthcare market.

Since 2001, Thinkwell has designed and produced compelling, immersive experiences in complex service environments for some of the world’s most recognized brands and companies, including Universal Entertainment, Warner Bros., Sesame Street, Lionsgate, and the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Committee, in addition to various hospitality and corporate clients.

“We see significant parallels between our work and the challenges facing healthcare today,” says Thinkwell’s chief executive officer, Joe Zenas. “Dr. Merahn’s portfolio of leadership experience in strategic healthcare communications and information services, general healthcare services, and managed care leaves him uniquely qualified to inform our strategic planning process in this new endeavor.”

Dr. Merahn is a veteran healthcare leader with experience managing complex multi-stakeholder organizations. He brings to Thinkwell a deep portfolio of skills and experience aligning strategy with clinical operations, including initiatives to improve quality of care and health by revitalizing the experience of care for both patients and professionals. He has been hands-on with clinical and organizational transformation for population health, and care delivery redesign, for hospital systems, ambulatory care networks, behavioral health, managed care, and large employers.

“Experience design is not just about the hospitality that takes place in the spaces before, between, or after direct care,” adds Merahn. “Thinkwell’s deep proficiency with the principles and practices of experience design make them ideally suited to help create environments and systems of care that energize and support activation, engagement, and connection between patients, professionals, and the community, in order to orchestrate and optimize transformative health-related experiences.”