Women Leadership in Healthcare: In Conversation with Cerys Goodall, Chief Operating Officer, Vetster

Healthcare is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by rapid advancements in technology. From Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and telemedicine to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data analytics, the healthcare industry is leveraging digital solutions to improve patient care, streamline operations, and boost efficiency.

In this context, we spoke to one of the top women leaders in healthcare solutions, Cerys Goodall, Chief Operating Officer at Vetster Inc. She shares insights on how technology and healthcare are increasingly intertwined, leading to advancements in diagnostics, personalized treatment, and patient engagement.

Beyond technical skills, Cerys also illuminates how women can take up more C-Suite roles in healthcare or any other business domain.

Q. To begin with, would you like to share some details about your background in managing or working with healthcare systems?

Goodall: Over the last 20 years, I have worked with tech startups – largely based in Canada – with global expansion strategies. I first specialized in public relations and communications, evolving to take on senior marketing roles, and then to operations.

Many of the companies I worked with either offered healthcare-specific solutions – TELUS’ Mobile Workforce solutions empowering workflows for community nurses in the mid-2000s. Simulated anatomy training for medics in the military. Then, to LEAGUE, a billion-dollar health operating system for which I led its initial launch as a healthcare marketplace.

Now at Vetster, I’m responsible for the business operations, including how veterinarians work with our pet owners, the medical oversight and regulatory frameworks we implement, and doing this at a state-provincial and international level.

Q. With advances in digital healthcare technologies, medicine’s future is taking shape before our very eyes. As a leader in healthcare solutions, how are you embracing these changes on a daily basis?

Goodall: At the heart of everything we do is a simple but powerful question: Does this improve the experience and outcome for the patient, and in our case, for the pet, and the pet owner and the veterinarian? We embrace digital transformation by keeping that human (and animal) outcome at the core. This isn’t about shiny new tools for the sake of trendiness, rather it’s about solving real problems, faster and better.

We also see the opportunity to leapfrog over outdated systems and build something modern. Like much of healthcare, the veterinary space is burdened by legacy tools and siloed systems. At Vetster, we’ve built a virtual care model that brings in a new way to experience care, We are innovating with technology and design to meet consumer needs.

But we’re also mindful of the gap between principle and practice. We believe in applying technology responsibly, focusing on real-world results, not just trends. That means knowing when to deploy AI, when to prioritize the human expert, and always grounding our decisions in ethics and purpose. Ultimately, digital healthcare is still the business of people, and the relationships we build will always be the foundation for how we move forward.

Q. Robotics is one of the fastest-growing and most exciting fields of medicine. Are you worried that robots and AI will take over the jobs of doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals? Perhaps you are terrified that AI will take over the world in a few years?

Goodall: On the contrary, these are tools we will become adept at using. Anything that improves outcomes, accuracy, and ethics will be hugely advantageous. But rather than working in trepidation, we must advocate for responsibility. We will learn a lot in the application of robotics and AI in medicine. However, human-in-the-loop will always be critical.

We know that even when thinking they are being truthful, humans often are limited in what they can convey. Or, they are biased in their thinking and develop their own diagnosis prior to seeking out treatment. We see this in virtual veterinary care where a pet owner may think they know what their pet’s ailment is and treatment plan should be, but in fact once speaking with a veterinarian they uncover that there’s more to it.

For example, we had one case where, based on the intake form and what the pet owner assessed, a lizard would have been treated with additional supplements by AI. But upon digging deeper with the pet owner about the lizard’s habitat and its husbandry, it was uncovered that the used lamp was insufficient for the breed. This is a simple example, but only veterinary intervention and digging into the human behavior could make the pet’s diagnosis accurate.

Q. How will virtual care or consultation (in terms of healthcare) continue to evolve?

Goodall: Now this is where AI can become really exciting. Like in human telehealth, pet telehealth took off during the pandemic when veterinary clinics were closed or facing capacity limitations. For many people, the pandemic offered them a time where they could finally adopt a pet. The boon was sparked and there are now 87-million households with pets in the US alone.

We must remember that telehealth facilitates human-to-human and, in our case, human-to-human-with-pet relationships. Wherever we can make the experience more efficient, elegant, accurate, and accessible is where we want to focus. Our goal at Vetster is to empower veterinarians to practice in new ways, and for all pets to receive the care they need, irrespective of geography, clinic hours, and access to the experts they need.

AI is particularly useful in cross-referencing and fact-checking medical notes and patient-care instructions. Vetster is building the largest database of virtual appointment interactions, which is unique to the industry. AI can help us to quickly understand trends such as increases in parasites, insights into pet owner biases, as well as trends in pet ownership and the products they consume.

We believe this will ultimately fill in a critical knowledge gap in veterinary medicine – what’s happening at home, how can we better support pet owners in and out of the clinic, and how can we ensure all pets get the care they deserve.

Q. How can one ensure the ethical use of patient data in healthcare projects? 

Goodall: Regulations in the use of pet data aren’t as stringent as in human healthcare, however, at Vetster, we believe that we need to establish and shape best practices in ways that will ultimately advance the industry and the ability for pets to obtain the care that they need. The good news is that most pet owners are happy to contribute insights from their pet’s health and digital records to help improve how we provide our services.  At Vetster, we treat pet data with the same diligence and respect as human health data. We adhere to privacy legislation, have internal governance teams and programs, and use only anonymized datasets to uncover trends. At Vetster, we believe AI and data science should illuminate insights, not compromise integrity.

Q.   Where would you recommend focusing your resources to stay ahead of the curve in healthcare transformation?

Goodall: If you’re not investing in interoperability, human-centered design, and AI literacy, you’re already behind. Interoperability ensures that systems talk to each other. In veterinary medicine, much of the data we know about pet owners’ lives is in disparate places – from clinics to services (like groomers and dog walkers), to insurance, and retailers. It’s one of our greatest bottlenecks in creating a fulsome picture of a pet’s health, and a massive opportunity for Human-centered design to make sure that tech actually improves people’s lives, not just workflow efficiency. And AI literacy—not just tools, but education—will define your organization’s agility. Transformation isn’t just digital, it’s cultural.

Q. Healthcare is one of the few industries that pride themselves in employing more women.  Yet, only a few healthcare organizations can vouch that their women leaders have a seat on their boards. Do you see a barrier to why women are not rising up the healthcare industry?

Goodall: This is a fascinating question when applied to veterinary medicine. The industry has experienced a complete turnover from being male dominated in the 50s to now 87% women today. Yet, we still face challenges when you consider men are far more likely to own their own clinic, and/or for clinics to be owned by consolidators and private-equity firms which are normally male-led. Financial solutions are limited for veterinarians graduating from school wanting to build their own practice, and long-term equity partnerships from corporate clinics are even more scarce.

Additionally, there remain critical gender-based gaps in the veterinary community that are out-sized for women. Women experience compassion fatigue and burnout at a higher rate than men. This is in part to the lack of systemic support they receive as caregivers, parents, and when taking maternity leave. The industry overall has few supports in place for women that truly meet their needs of balancing growing a veterinary practice, conducting physical work throughout the day, all while supporting the very real demands on women.

Q. How would you inspire other women to take up C-Suite roles in healthcare or in any other field?

Goodall: The only difference between a male leader and anyone else is the confidence to ask for the position. Women are hugely competent, they often make better leaders, build better long-term results in their businesses, and generate more ROI than their male counterparts. But we are plagued by systemic biases that tell us we must be over-skilled before applying for a role or have the perfect resume. It’s nonsense. Have the self-awareness to know what you don’t know and hire for it. Have the confidence to know you can solve any problem. And have the bravery to step into the unknown.

Q. Any advice you would like to give to young professionals, in terms of the changing tech and business landscape?

Goodall: All new technologies are trendy in the beginning. They are met with excitement and fear. And they are marketed in ways that show innovation. The internet saw many iterations from Web 1.0 to Web 3.0, businesses talked about digital-first transformations, we’ve seen smartphones be provided by employers to now BYOD (bring your own device).

The truth is that AI will follow a similar adoption path. My advice is—particularly for non-STEM professionals—to lean in from a place of curiosity and sound judgement. You don’t need to fear this new tool and capacity, but rather find ways to harness it responsibly. AI will democratize your ability to create, build, and scale in new ways that will fundamentally change and improve how you work. It’s time to be excited!