Did you know that in 2022 healthcare startups were the strongest industry in the U.S.? Fierce Healthcare reported that the industry collectively brought in 12.6 billion USD in revenue. Fast-forward to 2025 and Y Combinator is funding more than 100 healthcare startups.
To keep up with this pace, the healthcare industry has made considerable investments in innovation, leading to technological advances and the rise of specialized product manager positions. For PMs looking to make an impact on lives, the healthcare PM role might be a good fit.
This article serves as a comprehensive guide to healthcare product managers, including roles and responsibilities, skills and qualifications, industry challenges, and career paths.
The impact of product management in the healthcare industry
Let me share a few personal stories from Germany over the last few years.
When I arrived in Munich in 2017, I had to call several clinics to find a doctor. This was annoying because many places didn’t speak English or accept my insurance, and I lost a lot of time.
Today, I use DoctoLib and can schedule everything online without talking to anyone. It’s even possible to have video appointments, which saves me lots of time.
Talking to my health insurance provider was another tremendous challenge. Believe it or not, many offices only communicated via letters. I couldn’t believe that. Today, with products like Ottonova, everything is digital, with no paperwork, and you get in-app support through a chat in a language of your choice.
Role and responsibilities for healthcare product managers
To be a healthcare PM, you would be expected to:
- Uncover what drives value for customers
- Understand how to collect business value
- De-risk product ideas
- Prioritize opportunities
- Align product growth with market opportunities
The endgame is the same: lead product teams to create successful products that customers love and that benefit the business.
However, the industry comes with two specific responsibilities:
- Regulatory requirements — You must understand and ensure solutions respect them. You can only build what the regulations allow
- Risk tolerance — The healthcare industry has little to zero tolerance for risk. When lives are at stake, there’s no room for mistakes
In addition to the roles mentioned above, you would also be tasked with:
- Understanding industry trends
- Performing market research to identify opportunities
- Interviewing multiple people, e.g., clinic personnel, doctors, patients, etc.
- Continuously monitoring regulatory requirements and guaranteeing products respect such precisely
- Closely collaborating with business people and product teams to create solutions that improve people’s lives
Skills and qualifications
The healthcare industry is highly regulated and complex because it involves multiple parts. To succeed in this industry, you would need to master the following skills:
- Advanced communication skills to establish alignment with multiple demanding stakeholders
- Analytical skills to uncover patterns and quickly propose relevant solutions
- Strong decision-making skills to ensure progress while choosing the best available options
- Solid understanding of the healthcare industry, its trends, and opportunities
Your background is less critical because creating digital products goes beyond your degree. Yet, you must understand how digital products are developed and how the healthcare industry ticks.
Healthcare industry challenges
When I did my MBA, a professor explained the difference between the public and private sectors in simple words. In the public sector, you can only do what the law allows you to, while in the private sector, you can do what the law doesn’t prevent you from doing — these subtle differences in wording lead to a completely different way of working.
The healthcare industry is highly regulated, meaning you cannot bend the rules, as often happens in the private sector. Common challenges include:
- Crafting a user experience in accordance with regulations
- Needing to integrate legacy systems
- Conflicting interests of stakeholders
- Staying up to date on upcoming regulations and the impact on your product
Career path and professional development
As discussed above, your degree isn’t what matters most; what matters is your knowledge of building digital products and industry understanding.
If you’re part of the healthcare industry but product management is new to you, I recommend:
- Try a product management boot camp. You can find many, but opt for one that’s end-to-end. You want at least 30+ hours so you can get hands-on and receive feedback
- Read relevant product management books to understand the overall perspective of digital products. You can read “Inspired” by Marty Cagan to understand what great looks like
- Leverage AI. Given our current situation, you’ll benefit from an AI product management course
Yet, if you’re already a great product manager and want to join the healthcare industry, you could:
- Take a healthcare overview course like this one from Coursera
- Read about your local regulations because every place will have different nuances
- Strive to understand the big picture of the industry
When it comes to career progression, you’ll have many opportunities. As in other industries, the healthcare sector has many product people positions, from associate to VP.
Key takeaways
The healthcare product manager remains a value maximizer. The ultimate responsibility is identifying opportunities and creating value for all parties involved. To help you get started, adopt a continuous learning mindset and grab opportunities when presented.
Investors continue to pour money into the healthcare industry, and you can expect many product manager positions to open up. If you want to feel like you have a meaningful purpose, the healthcare sector can quickly impact millions of lives worldwide, and you can be part of it.
Featured image source: IconScout
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