Meet Johnny Yu, VP of Patient Experience at Phil

Next up in our Employee Spotlight series is Johnny Yu, VP of Patient Experience. Learn how Johnny’s enthusiasm, team-building skills, and drive to achieve the best patient experience make him a valuable asset at Phil.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your role at Phil. 

I've been the VP of Patient Experience at Phil for a little over a year now. This role means a lot of different things. I oversee several operational departments across the company, namely Patient Support, Client Escalations, and PhilRx, our prescription processing arm. We have a great team here at Phil. At this point, we're pushing over 200 folks in the departments I oversee, and they're a fun group.   

Throughout my professional career, I’ve worked closely with customers. Before joining Phil, I spent most of the last decade in customer operations with Uber and a proptech startup. Before tech, I was in management consulting and also spent time in the Navy.

What motivates you to come to work each day? 

There are a few things. One is Phil’s mission – it’s great to play a part in helping patients get their medications quickly and affordably. An even bigger motivator for me personally is the people – my team, my colleagues, and the leadership at Phil. You know how parents teach you that if you surround yourself with good people, good things are going to happen? That’s how I feel about the work environment at Phil. I wake up every day looking forward to talking to the team during our morning stand-up. Everyone has the right mindset, with their heart in the right place. I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to work with.

What do you think has been your biggest contribution to the team so far?

I would say scaling Phil operations has been my most significant contribution. Our PhilRx and Patient Support teams have more than doubled in the last three months. This type of growth forced us to revisit and revise existing processes and workflows while taking care of the normal day-to-day, which required our entire team to be resilient, flexible, and creative. On the more intangible side, I feel like we’ve created a culture of honest feedback and removed walls between operational teams. 

Is there a project you or your team has been involved in that you've been particularly proud of?

One of our major focus areas in 2023 was improving processing quality so that every script gets to the patient faster and without inaccuracies. It took an all-hands-on-deck approach to execute this initiative. From Product to Engineering to Operations to Analytics, teams across Phil took ownership as problem areas were identified. We were able to reduce error rates to an exceptionally low level. This accomplishment was a proud moment across all the different teams.

What is the most challenging part of your job?

For me, the most challenging part of the job is also what makes it the most fun. Here at Phil, things are changing all the time. It's a very dynamic business, which is exciting and difficult at the same time. Recently we identified the need to staff up multiple teams quickly to meet extreme demand growth (a great problem to have!). The challenge for me operationally was ensuring the team was growing and executing the normal day-to-day priorities. And that wasn't easy. When you grow quickly, small gaps in any operational process are magnified and can quickly become disruptions. We must constantly rethink and revise our existing processes while operating under time-sensitive conditions. It's a challenging environment, but I wouldn't trade it for any other.

On a personal note, what do you like to do in your free time?  

The simple answer is to get out of the house. I work remotely, so it’s easy to get lost in my work and realize I haven’t been outside to get a breath of fresh Seattle air. Living in the Pacific Northwest, I’m spoiled with what nature offers, so going on hikes with my wife and dog is a no-brainer. Also, I try to maintain some level of fitness, so getting to the gym is also a priority in my free time.  

If you could pick any superpower, what would it be and why?

I think it would be the ability to travel in time. Knowing what the future holds would help me make the best decisions. I just spent weeks researching and buying the right TV. I'm just that type of guy. I really want to know and do all the research to make the best-educated decision. If I could teleport to my future self – a year or even a month from now – it would make my decision-making process so much quicker, easier, and more confident, eliminating all the anxiety and time spent making that final decision.

Interested in joining the Phil team? Check out our company page to discover our exciting job opportunities.