Welcome to the latest installment of “5 Questions With…” – Health Tech Idaho’s monthly feature to help you quickly get to know an innovator who is changing the face of healthcare and technology in Idaho.
At HealthTech Idaho, we love spotlighting the people behind the innovations shaping healthcare across the country — and right here in Idaho. In this edition of 5 Questions, we spoke with Jason Fererra, Director of Business Development at Vital.io, a company that’s making patient and family communication in healthcare as seamless as receiving delivery updates on your phone — but without adding burden to already overwhelmed clinicians.
1. What’s your current gig?
I’m the Director of Business Development at Vital. I help health systems understand how we can improve patient & family communication without disrupting provider workflows — whether that’s in an ambulatory clinic, the emergency department, or inpatient settings.
Vital is designed to bring the kind of real-time communication people are used to in other parts of their lives — like delivery notifications or travel updates — into the healthcare experience. And the best part is that we do it in a way that’s completely behind the scenes for the care team. We believe that the experience matters as much as the medicine!
2. What’s your elevator pitch, and how do you deliver on it?
Vital fills a critical communication gap in healthcare by integrating with the EHR to deliver real-time updates and insights to patients & families — without requiring extra steps from providers.
“When you ship a package, you get updates at every step. But in something as important as healthcare, patients often sit in the dark. With Vital, they don’t have to.”
Think of it like this: when you ship a package, you get updates at every step. But in something as important as healthcare, patients often sit in the dark. With Vital, they don’t have to. Our software uses AI to translate clinical information into plain language, at about a fifth-grade reading level. Patients can see wait times, daily care plans, test results, next steps, and more — all through Vital’s secure web-based app. There’s nothing to download or account to manage. Just a simple, trusted interface that works.
We support all the major EHRs — Epic, Cerner, Meditech, Athena, etc. — and we’re already live in over 100 hospitals across the U.S., including with systems like Emory, CommonSpirit, and Mercy.
3. What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned getting to this point?
One of the biggest takeaways is just how hard communication in healthcare really is. I came from a medical background and so does my wife. But when my twins were born with some medical complications and one needed heart surgery at just 7 weeks old, even we felt lost. When I found Vital, I immediately thought: everyone needs this.
“When you simplify things and show people where to go and what to do next, it makes a real difference!”
Once you’re in the startup trenches, you realize how much inertia exists in healthcare. Even though everyone talks about improving patient experience, getting systems to act on that — especially in high-pressure, rapidly changing environments like the ED — is a significant challenge. Hospitals typically think about patient experience in terms of surveys and post visit engagement, but those who implement Vital’s solutions see concrete results across the emergency and inpatient environment. For example, one large health system saw a 50% improvement in patient experience scores, a nearly 100% reduction in safety events, and a 4.4-star average Google rating across ED and inpatient visits. When you simplify things and show people where to go and what to do next, it makes a real difference!
4. If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about healthcare right now, what would it be?
Access. It’s the most common frustration people have — from sick kids to elderly relatives, people just can’t get appointments, or they wait months to see a specialist. I’d love to improve both how people access care and what they get from it once they’re in the door.
Being part of a community that’s embracing change with intention and heart is genuinely inspiring. I’m feeling truly hopeful and excited for what’s ahead!
Some of this again to me comes back to communication. If we can help patients prepare for visits — explain what to expect, how to advocate for themselves, and what questions to ask — we can make sure they get the best out of their time with providers and minimize the need for follow ups. We should also be using social determinants of health data to guide people to providers who actually fit their circumstances. The data is there. It’s just about making it actionable.
5. Why are you excited about healthtech in Idaho?
I didn’t expect to find this kind of energy and innovation here — but I’m so glad I did. Health Tech Idaho and the local health systems are building something really meaningful. Some have emerging technology labs and are actively exploring new innovations, which isn’t always the case in healthcare’s traditionally conservative culture.
Idaho might still be known for its blue turf and potatoes, but there’s a lot more happening here. Being part of a community that’s embracing change with intention and heart is genuinely inspiring. I’m feeling truly hopeful and excited for what’s ahead!
