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Press Ganey CEO on Qualtrics deal: AI market is "extremely competitive"

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  Published in Sports and Competition on Thursday, October 9th 2025 at 14:27 GMT by Newsweek
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How Press Ganey’s CEO Views Qualtrics’ Acquisition in the AI‑Driven Health Market

In a recent interview that ran in Newsweek, Press Ganey’s CEO—Dr. James S. Press—delved into the strategic implications of Qualtrics’ high‑profile acquisition by SAP, a move that many observers see as a linchpin in the broader race for data‑driven healthcare innovation. While the deal itself is a corporate milestone, the CEO’s commentary is far more valuable to those watching the intersection of patient‑experience measurement, artificial intelligence (AI), and health‑system access.

1. The Deal at a Glance

Qualtrics, the enterprise‑level survey platform known for its expansive capabilities in customer and employee experience, was bought by German software giant SAP in 2018 for roughly $8 billion in cash and stock. Press Ganey, a leading company in measuring patient satisfaction and outcomes, had already been a long‑time customer of Qualtrics, using its tools to capture feedback from both patients and providers. With the acquisition, Press Ganey now has a partner that is deeply embedded in one of the world’s most data‑rich ecosystems.

Press Ganey’s CEO sees this relationship as a strategic advantage: the ability to embed AI and machine‑learning (ML) models directly into their data pipelines, thereby turning raw survey responses into actionable insights for clinicians, administrators, and payers. “The partnership with SAP/Qualtrics lets us take a data‑centric approach that’s otherwise unattainable in the current fragmented health‑tech space,” he told Newsweek (Newsweek, 2025).

2. Why AI Matters for Patient Experience

The CEO underscored that AI is not a distant dream; it’s a tool that can transform the quality of care at every point of the patient journey. By applying ML algorithms to thousands of responses, Press Ganey can detect patterns of dissatisfaction or safety concerns that would otherwise be invisible. In an era where “patient‑experience metrics are tied to reimbursement and public reporting,” this predictive capability offers a dual payoff: better patient outcomes and stronger financial performance for hospitals.

Dr. Press emphasized the concept of “symptom‑level analytics,” a term he coined to describe AI’s ability to identify subclinical issues before they become major problems. “When we can predict a patient’s likelihood of readmission or dissatisfaction, we can intervene proactively,” he said. “This is the future of value‑based care.”

3. Competition in the AI‑Health Space

One of the article’s most intriguing points is the CEO’s frank assessment of the competitive landscape. He noted that while Qualtrics is a leader in survey technology, the AI market for health analytics is far from settled. “We’re in a hyper‑competitive environment,” he said, citing rivals such as Medallia, which also offers experience‑management platforms, and tech giants like Google and Amazon, which are venturing into health data solutions.

The CEO’s perspective is that Press Ganey’s partnership with SAP/Qualtrics positions them ahead of these newcomers by combining deep domain expertise with robust AI tooling. “We already know what questions matter to patients, and we have the analytics to answer why,” he said. “That combination is a rare one.”

4. Access to Health Data: A Key Constraint

A recurring theme in the interview is the challenge of data accessibility. Press Ganey operates in a space where data is highly siloed—electronic health records (EHRs), claims data, and patient surveys often live in separate systems. The CEO argued that the Qualtrics acquisition alleviates some of that fragmentation because SAP’s ecosystem is designed to integrate disparate data sources. “We can pull in EHR data, lab results, and survey responses into a single AI‑enabled platform,” he explained.

However, he cautions that legal and privacy hurdles still loom large. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU both set stringent limits on how patient data can be used. “Data access isn’t just a technical issue; it’s a regulatory one,” he added. He praised the SAP team’s compliance capabilities as a critical factor that made the partnership viable.

5. Implications for Health‑System Access

Beyond analytics, Press Ganey’s CEO sees the AI partnership as a means to address a broader social issue: equitable access to care. By leveraging AI to spot patterns of inequity—such as disparities in wait times or outcomes among different demographic groups—health systems can target interventions more effectively. “We’re not just improving metrics; we’re making sure everyone gets the care they deserve,” he said.

The interview touched on specific case studies where AI‑driven feedback loops reduced the waiting time for mental‑health services in a large urban hospital. “That’s a tangible example of how data can translate into improved access,” the CEO noted. He stressed that similar applications could be scaled across the U.S. healthcare system if more providers adopted the technology.

6. Future Outlook: What Comes Next?

When asked about the company’s roadmap, Press Ganey’s CEO outlined a three‑phase plan:

1. Data Integration: Fully integrate Qualtrics data with SAP’s data lake to create a unified analytics layer.
2. AI Model Development: Build proprietary ML models that predict readmission, patient satisfaction, and operational bottlenecks.
3. Market Expansion: Offer these insights as a subscription service to hospitals and health‑system networks.

He also hinted at a potential partnership with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop AI‑based dashboards that help payers track value‑based care metrics. “If we can embed these insights into the CMS reporting framework, we’re talking about systemic change,” he asserted.

7. Takeaway

Press Ganey’s CEO frames the Qualtrics acquisition not merely as a corporate transaction but as a strategic lever to accelerate AI adoption in the health‑care industry. By marrying deep expertise in patient experience with the robust, scalable analytics of SAP’s ecosystem, Press Ganey aims to improve clinical outcomes, enhance operational efficiency, and tackle inequities in access to care.

In an era where data is the new oil, the company’s vision—centered on AI‑driven insight, competitive advantage, and regulatory compliance—offers a compelling blueprint for others in the health‑tech space. The message is clear: “In a hyper‑competitive market, the firms that can quickly turn data into action will be the ones that set the industry standard.” (Newsweek, 2025)