E542 Sumayah Rahman, Director of Data Science – Machine Learning and Infrastructure at Cedar

Today's guest is Sumayah Rahman, Director of Data Science – Machine Learning and Infrastructure at Cedar. Founded in 2016, Cedar came to their co-founder after a nightmarish personal journey through the healthcare system led to confusion, frustration and disappointment. One thing was clear: The system needed to change. Because when the patient experience is convenient and clear, it leads to significantly better outcomes for providers, payers and the people they serve. Cedar’s mission is to make healthcare more affordable and accessible through their consumer-friendly platform.

Sumayah leads the Machine Learning and Data Infrastructure at Cedar, where they build data infrastructure and tooling that transforms and organizes data in a way that enables insights and data products. Furthermore, they work to improve the Cedar Suite by developing and deploying data-powered features that utilize machine learning and rules-based algorithms. Their ultimate goal is to create the best healthcare financial engagement platform - that’s powered by data science, smart product design and personalization - to help make healthcare more affordable and accessible for all.

In this episode, Sumayah talks about:

Her diverse background in health, FinTech, data science & behavioral economics,

Leading AI/ML initiatives to improve patient financial experiences at Cedar,

Growing ML efforts at Cedar to drive product and strategy,

Her career journey from Apple to Cedar, blending tech and strategy,

Cedar’s bold, collaborative innovation with actionable teamwork,

Introducing AI-driven Cedar Support to enhance healthcare billing efficiency,

Hiring ML and AI experts with structured problem-solving,

Valuing impactful, patient-focused work guided by AI principles