Cardio's Four Forces™

Healthcare growth is shaped by structural forces.

Cardio's Four Forces model defines the realities that determine how healthcare markets operate—and how health tech companies must perform within them.

Cardio's Four Forces™

Cardio's Four Forces™

Cardio's Four Forces™

Every healthcare growth outcome can be traced back to the interaction of business, policy, technology, and leadership.

Understanding one force in isolation is not enough to see the whole field.

Understanding them together creates clarity.

Every healthcare growth outcome can be traced back to the interaction of business, policy, technology, and leadership.

Understanding one force in isolation is not enough to see the whole field.

Understanding them together creates clarity.

Every healthcare growth outcome can be traced back to the interaction of business, policy, technology, and leadership.

Understanding one force in isolation is not enough to see the whole field.

Understanding them together creates clarity.

Force #1

Business

We examine how healthcare organizations operate, prioritize, and make decisions for their future.

Force #2

Policy

We assess regulatory, financial, and policy forces that shape your opportunity in healthcare markets.

Force #3

Technology

We evaluate how healthcare organizations judge technology performance and outcomes.

Force #4

Leadership

We consider leadership dynamics, incentives, and change capacity across organizations.

Apply the Four Forces to your growth strategy today.
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Business

Healthcare organizations operate under margin pressure, capital constraints, and competing service line priorities.

Growth decisions are shaped by:

  • Operating models and cost structures

  • Capital allocation cycles

  • Service line economics

  • Enterprise versus regional governance

Revenue acceleration requires alignment with how providers sustain financial viability — not how vendors model opportunity.

Policy

Reimbursement structures, regulatory mandates, and risk arrangements influence nearly every healthcare decision.

Opportunity is shaped by:

  • Fee-for-service versus value-based dynamics

  • Federal and state regulatory oversight

  • Risk-bearing entities and shared savings models

  • Compliance and reporting burdens

Policy is not background context. It defines what is rewarded — and what is constrained.

Technology

Healthcare technology is evaluated under operational constraint.

Adoption depends on:

  • Integration maturity with dominant platforms

  • Workflow compatibility

  • Procurement pathways and budget ownership

  • Measurable impact and referenceable outcomes

Innovation claims do not drive decisions. Operational performance does.

Leadership

Healthcare organizations are governed by layered decision hierarchies and political capital.

Execution is shaped by:

  • Executive alignment and mandate clarity

  • Cross-functional influence

  • Board and stakeholder expectations

  • Organizational tolerance for change

Even strong strategy fails without leadership capacity to move it forward.

What's next?

Cardio exists because healthcare growth is a conditioning problem, not a tactics problem. Teams struggle not from lack of effort or ambition, but because the healthcare system demands endurance, clarity, and coherence that most SaaS and tech playbooks don't account for.


We help growth teams build that capacity so they can move with confidence, adapt without breaking, and stay in the work long enough to matter. We are here for the long haul with you. Healthcare doesn’t change through momentum alone. It changes when capable people stay engaged in the intricacies of this industry and lead with care.

What is Cardio?

Cardio is a growth and leadership practice for healthcare technology teams doing consequential work. We work with founders, executives, operators, and investors who sell into healthcare and operate within its realities: long buying cycles, regulated environments, human stakes, and constant tradeoffs between speed and responsibility.


Our work sits at the intersection of business, policy, technology, and leadership. We help teams build the judgment required to navigate these forces within complex markets, align their organizations, and make decisions that hold up over time. That work can take many forms: training, advisory engagements, research, writing, and structured programs designed to sharpen how leaders think before they act.