# Digital Scientists

> Digital Scientists takes software and AI from prototype to production, and clients own what we build outright, including the code, IP and roadmap. A senior US-based team, in business since 2007, based in Atlanta, Georgia. $20M+ in verified client ROI, with the deepest proof in healthcare. Full detail: https://digitalscientists.com/llms-full.txt

## Problems We Solve

Six business problems clients hire us to solve.

- [Problems we solve](https://digitalscientists.com/problems/): Six business problems companies hire Digital Scientists to solve: new products, roadmap capacity, aging platforms, operating cost, lost deals, and R&D.
- [New Product](https://digitalscientists.com/problems/build-a-new-product/): "We have a product opportunity, but not the team to build it." An idea and no product team. A product team, ready now.
  Questions buyers ask:
  - "Should we hire a CTO first or use a product development partner?" Not before you know what the product is. One hire is not a product team, and your first technical hire is easier to get right once the product is defined. We stand in as the product team (research, design, architecture and engineering) while you prove the opportunity. You own the code and IP, and when you take it in-house, we help you hire and hand over.
  - "Why do quotes to build our software product vary so much?" Because each firm priced a different product. A spec, especially one drafted with an AI tool, reads complete before it is. It doesn’t settle what goes in version one, what to buy versus build, or what compliance will demand, and a fixed bid on those gaps comes back as change orders. A Blueprint settles them first and gives you a budget range you can defend.
  - "What should the first version (MVP) of a new product include?" An MVP is a market test, not a smaller product. Build only what tests the assumption that sinks the business if it’s wrong, and put it in front of buyers who would pay. Compliance your market requires goes in version one. It’s not a later feature. Most MVPs take 4 to 16 weeks.
  - "Can we build the real product on top of our prototype?" Use it as the brief, not the foundation. A prototype shows what you want the product to do. It doesn’t carry the workflows, data model and constraints the real product runs on. Bring it, with your specs or deck, to a Blueprint, and we turn it into the version a production team can build from.
- [Roadmap Capacity](https://digitalscientists.com/problems/increase-engineering-capacity/): "Our roadmap is committed. Our team is full." Approved work, no engineers. A second team that ships it.
  Questions buyers ask:
  - "How do we bring in an outside development team without creating rework for our engineers?" Rework happens when two teams end up building two versions of the product. We work inside your stack, your Jira and your review process, and we agree the integration points and release date with your engineers before we build. Your engineers review our code, so any mismatch shows up in week one, not at handoff.
  - "Who owns the code when an outside firm builds part of our roadmap?" You own all of it: the code, the documentation and the IP, in your own repositories. What matters is whether your team can run it after we leave. A Full Build ends with architecture diagrams, API docs, runbooks and structured handoff sessions with your engineers. After that you decide whether it comes back to your team or we keep going with you.
  - "How much of my team’s time will an outside engineering team need?" It takes less engineering time than most buyers expect and more subject-matter time. Our senior lead runs the discovery and organizes the work, so your engineers mostly review code. The one thing we can’t replace is the person who knows your business rules. That person has to stay involved and make the calls.
  - "How fast can an outside team start shipping an approved roadmap item?" Sprint 0 sets the architecture, infrastructure and delivery plan, and every two-week sprint after that ends with working software you can test. The ship date usually depends on when your team can integrate and release the work, so we plan backward from that date. If the item still needs defining, a Blueprint makes it build-ready in one to four weeks.
- [Platform Modernization](https://digitalscientists.com/problems/modernize-your-platform/): "Our business has outgrown our platform." A platform you've outgrown. Modernize while you operate.
  Questions buyers ask:
  - "Should we rewrite our legacy platform from scratch or modernize it in pieces?" Not all at once. Full rewrites take several quarters, hinge on the two or three people who know the old system, and rebuild yesterday’s workflows on a new stack. Decide piece by piece what to keep, connect, replace, or retire, and prove the riskiest change first, usually the data or a key integration.
  - "How do we move customers off an old platform without losing them?" Plan the sunset as carefully as the rollout. Customers tolerate a new look. They leave over a lost workflow, or over one module updated while two stay old. Move one product line or customer group first, run old and new side by side, and verify the outputs match before anyone switches.
  - "Should we replace our platform with off-the-shelf software or build our own?" Decide by workflow, not by product. Where the workflow is standard, buy the service and keep renting it. Where the workflow is how you compete, prescriptive software starts driving your process, and the license bill never stops. Get the recommendation from engineers with no vendor partnerships to protect.
  - "How do we get the board to fund modernizing a platform that still works?" Don’t pitch it as refactoring. Nobody funds that. Tie it to what the current system costs today: the spreadsheets and re-keying it forces, the licenses you’d retire, the growth it blocks. Then test whether the pain justifies the cost, and ask for the first phase, not the whole program.
- [Cost of Operations](https://digitalscientists.com/problems/reduce-cost-of-operations/): "We need to do more work at a lower cost." Headcount grows with volume. AI does the routine work.
  Questions buyers ask:
  - "How do I prove the ROI of AI automation to my CFO?" Stop counting hours saved. A CFO hears freed-up time as soft savings, because people fill it with other work. Before you start, name a number the business already tracks: cost per case, revenue you fail to capture, fines and audit exposure, or growth absorbed without a hire. Write down the baseline, then measure the pilot against it.
  - "Which business process should we automate with AI first?" Not the biggest one. Pick work your people spend real hours on today, where doing it faster moves money or risk, where a wrong answer is only a recommendation a person overrides, and that starts from one or two inputs. Skip anything that needs five systems on day one. Then prove it on your own records before you fund the build.
  - "Should we buy software or build a custom AI workflow to cut operating costs?" Run any product against your exact workflow, not its demo; that is where most fall apart. Licenses are the line item that only grows, and you pay for features you never use. Building means owning code and models that need updating. Build where the workflow is specific to how you run and the return covers ownership. Buy the rest.
  - "Does automating operations with AI mean cutting staff?" Only if you choose that. Most growing operators have more work than people, so the better measure is how much volume the current team absorbs before the next hire. AI takes the reading, re-keying and rule checks. A person stays on every decision and handles the exceptions. What you do with the freed capacity is a leadership call.
- [Product Competitiveness](https://digitalscientists.com/problems/product-competitiveness/): "We're losing customers and deals we should be winning." Losing demos and clients. Fix what's losing the deal.
  Questions buyers ask:
  - "Does a better user experience actually help win more deals?" Only when the product is what’s losing the deal. “Every product in our space has a bad UI” doesn’t tell you whether it is. Ask the buyers who saw both demos and chose someone else. If they name price or a missing capability, a redesign won’t move win rate. If they couldn’t see what your product does better, it will.
  - "We’re funding a rebuild of our product. How do we avoid ending up with the same experience?" The team that built the current product will rebuild it the way they already see it. The workflows come out right and the experience comes out the same. Start from the job your buyers are trying to finish. Test the riskiest part with real users, before the build starts and while changes are still cheap.
  - "How do I build the business case for redesigning our product?" Tie it to numbers the board already tracks: win rate, churn, support cost and time to onboard a customer. Then back it with evidence from the people who decide, not internal opinion: what lost buyers said, and how real users did on a prototype. If the board needs the case before any design work, start with an Assessment.
  - "What should a product design engagement deliver besides slides?" Something your engineers can build from. A Blueprint ends with research from the people who decide, then an architecture and a development plan with milestones and a budget. The four-week version adds working software tested with real users. The research, designs and IP are yours, whether we build it or your own team does.
- [Innovation / R&D](https://digitalscientists.com/problems/innovation-and-rd/): "How do we build what's next while delivering what matters now?" Ideas keep getting shelved. An R&D team beside yours.
  Questions buyers ask:
  - "How should a company decide which innovation bets to keep funding?" Fund each bet the way a venture investor would: a set amount from a ring-fenced fund, a milestone, and a go or no-go before the next check. Start with the core of the value, not the full feature list. If the core doesn’t hold, shut the bet down and move the money to the next one.
  - "Should we build an internal innovation team or use an outside R&D partner?" Most companies have no R&D group, and the teams they do have are committed to this year’s numbers. A partner gives you a working team beside yours now, and the code, research, and data models stay yours. When you want to bring the work in-house, we help you hire and build your own team as part of the transfer.
  - "What does an innovation partner deliver: a strategy deck or working software?" Working software. An early-stage bet is scoped to the one thing that has to be true, not a finished product, and you agree up front where that line sits. Every stage leaves you something you keep and use: code, designs, research, and data models, with no licensing fees.
  - "How much of our own team’s time does an outside innovation team need?" Your core team stays on this year’s plan. The time we ask for comes from your subject-matter experts, who join a bet when it needs what they know, with a C-suite sponsor signing off. Budget for that time: the experts drive the key calls, and nobody outside your company can replace what they know.

## How We Engage

- [Blueprint](https://digitalscientists.com/services/blueprint/): Define what to build in 1-4 weeks. Three tiers starting at $10K; we recommend the two-week Medium tier. Bring your specs, prototypes, and research, we pressure-test it and produce the shared…
- [Working Session](https://digitalscientists.com/services/working-session/): A one-day strategy workshop to align stakeholders, map opportunities, and identify the highest-ROI starting point for your product investment.
- [Assessment](https://digitalscientists.com/services/assessment/): A 4-week paid Assessment for AI, custom software, modernization, or strategic diagnostic initiatives. Quantified ROI, technical feasibility, board-ready…
- [Rapid Experiment](https://digitalscientists.com/services/rapid-experiment/): A one-day proof of concept to quickly test whether an idea is worth prototyping, before investing in a full sprint.
- [The Experiment](https://digitalscientists.com/services/the-experiment/): A functional prototype in 5 days. We build the riskiest part of your product with real users, real data, and real code, so you know before you invest.
- [Minimum Viable Product](https://digitalscientists.com/minimum-viable-product/): A production-quality first version in 4-16 weeks, put in front of real users as a market test. All the IP is yours.
- [Full Build](https://digitalscientists.com/services/full-build/): Production engineering for validated products. Sprint-based delivery with senior engineers, from architecture through launch.
- [Technical Advisory](https://digitalscientists.com/services/technical-advisory/): Architecture review, technology selection, and engineering leadership from senior practitioners. The technical north star your team needs to build it…
- [Production Support](https://digitalscientists.com/services/production-support/): Managed services for production software. Bug fixes, feature enhancements, performance tuning, and on-call support so your team can focus on the business.
- [Monitoring & Ops](https://digitalscientists.com/services/monitoring-ops/): DevOps and site reliability engineering to catch problems before your users do. Monitoring, alerting, and infrastructure management.
- [The Lab](https://digitalscientists.com/services/the-lab/): An embedded innovation partnership for enterprises. Ongoing R&D, product strategy, and engineering, a dedicated team that operates like your internal...
- [Our method](https://digitalscientists.com/method/): Four phases. Twelve offerings. One principle: evidence before investment. Discover, Experiment, Engineer, Optimize, the Digital Scientists methodology...

## Forward Deployed Engineering

- [Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE)](https://digitalscientists.com/services/forward-deployed-ai-engineering/): Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE): a senior US team embedded in your operation to make AI drive productivity and returns. On your stack, and you own what…
- [System of intelligence](https://digitalscientists.com/healthcare/forward-deployed-engineering/system-of-intelligence/): Healthcare’s next strategic advantage gets built in the layer above the EHR, the system of intelligence. The argument behind every Digital Scientists…

## Disciplines

- [Product strategy](https://digitalscientists.com/product-strategy-consulting/): Product strategy consulting that ends in a plan your engineers can build, not a deck. Decide what to build first, prove the riskiest part, and budget it in 1–4 weeks.
- [Product management](https://digitalscientists.com/product-management/): Product management embedded in every engagement. Market awareness, business modeling, validated learning, and data-driven prioritization, not just…
- [UX research and design](https://digitalscientists.com/ux-design/): Complex workflows, simple UI. Healthcare, SaaS, enterprise. User research, JTBD, service design, design systems, AI experience. Senior team since 2007.
- [Engineering](https://digitalscientists.com/development/): Senior architects orchestrate AI-accelerated delivery. 15-20 years avg experience, 200+ products shipped. Senior US team, AI-accelerated delivery.
- [Minimum viable product](https://digitalscientists.com/minimum-viable-product/): U.S.-based senior team. 200+ products shipped since 2007, including successful exits. AI-accelerated MVP development, and all the IP is yours.
- [New product development](https://digitalscientists.com/new-product-development/): We help clients move through the Pragmatic Framework to build digital products that solve real market problems. Research, architecture, and AI-accelerated…
- [Platform modernization](https://digitalscientists.com/platform-modernization/): Modernize your legacy platform without shutting down. Architecture review, phased delivery, AI-accelerated development, and build-operate-transfer. Since…
- [API and integration](https://digitalscientists.com/api-integration-development/): Digital Scientists builds custom APIs, system integrations, and data pipelines that connect your platforms, partners, and products into a unified…
- [Mobile](https://digitalscientists.com/mobile-app-development/): Custom iOS and Android app development from a senior US team. 200+ products shipped since 2007. Native and cross-platform. You own the code and the IP.
- [IoT](https://digitalscientists.com/iot-application-development/): Connected products in production: fleet, RPM, smart locks, wearables. Firmware, mobile, and cloud, BLE, OBD-II, cellular. Since 2007. You own the IP.

## AI

- [AI and machine learning](https://digitalscientists.com/ai-machine-learning/): Senior US AI engineering team since 2007. Custom AI models, generative AI, AI agents, data engineering. HIPAA-compliant. You own…
- [AI agent implementation](https://digitalscientists.com/ai-agent-implementation/): Deploy production-ready AI agents that automate workflows, qualify leads, and streamline operations. Python, n8n, Claude Code, and more, built by…
- [Cortex, on-premise document intelligence](https://digitalscientists.com/ventures/cortex/): An intelligent document processing platform that runs entirely on your infrastructure. Ask any PDF, scan, or handwritten note a question, get a cited…

## Healthcare

- [Healthcare](https://digitalscientists.com/healthcare/): Custom healthcare AI solutions with $20M+ verified impact. Production systems for documentation, revenue cycle, virtual care, and scheduling.
- [Virtual care and telemedicine](https://digitalscientists.com/healthcare/domains/virtual-care-platforms/): Custom virtual care platforms across acute, post-acute, home health, hospice, and rural access. NeverAlone serves 26,000+ patients across 7 states at a…
- [Patient engagement platforms](https://digitalscientists.com/healthcare/domains/patient-engagement-platforms/): Custom patient engagement platforms across acute, post-acute, home health, hospice, and rural networks. Mobile-first portals, family communication,…
- [Revenue cycle AI](https://digitalscientists.com/healthcare/domains/revenue-cycle-ai/): AI-powered revenue cycle management for healthcare. Reduce A/R days from 45 to 28, cut denial rates from 12% to 4%. Healthcare revenue cycle AI solutions.
- [EHR integrations](https://digitalscientists.com/healthcare/domains/ehr-integrations/): Healthcare EHR integration services. PointClickCare and Gehrimed in production. Epic integrated in an R&D environment. Cerner, MatrixCare, Elation via HL7…
- [Healthcare AI development](https://digitalscientists.com/healthcare/ai-development/): Custom healthcare AI development services. Clinical documentation AI, RAF/HCC coding, predictive analytics, and MDS optimization. $20M+ verified ROI.…
- [Healthcare data engineering](https://digitalscientists.com/healthcare/data-engineering/): Healthcare data analytics consulting and engineering services. ETL pipelines, data lakes, analytics dashboards, and AI-ready infrastructure. $20M+…
- [Healthcare UX research](https://digitalscientists.com/healthcare/ux-research/): Healthcare UX design consulting and research services. Clinical workflow optimization, usability testing, and design systems for EHRs, patient portals,…
- [Post-acute care technology](https://digitalscientists.com/healthcare/post-acute-care/): Skilled nursing, home health, hospice, senior living, IDD and 14+ post-acute settings. MDS/PDPM, virtual care and documentation AI in production.
- [Healthcare SaaS development](https://digitalscientists.com/healthcare/saas-development/): HIPAA-compliant multi-tenant platforms, patient portals, provider tools and practice management systems.

## Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP)

- [Rural Health Transformation Program](https://digitalscientists.com/rural-health-transformation/): Digital Scientists is a technology implementation partner and solution architect for organizations delivering RHTP initiatives. $50 billion CMS programme, $10 billion a year FY2026 to FY2030, all 50 states approved. Assistance Listing 93.798, NOFO CMS-RHT-26-001.
- [How the programme works](https://digitalscientists.com/rural-health-transformation/how-the-program-works/): The eleven approved uses of funds, the $25B baseline and $25B workload split, all sixteen technical score factors with weights, and the annual recalculation.
- [Who does what](https://digitalscientists.com/rural-health-transformation/who-does-what/): States, programme consultants, subrecipients, aggregators and vendors, and the four routes a technology partner reaches the work.
- [Partner brief](https://digitalscientists.com/rural-health-transformation/partner-brief/): Digital Scientists and NeverAlone as a delivery partner. The scored factors we build against, production proof, and how engagements are funded.

Six-part series: [how funding is scored](https://digitalscientists.com/blog/rural-health-transformation-program-scoring/) · [who does what](https://digitalscientists.com/blog/rural-health-transformation-program-who-does-what/) · [treat in place versus transport](https://digitalscientists.com/blog/treat-in-place-versus-transport-rhtp/) · [interoperability is scored](https://digitalscientists.com/blog/rhtp-interoperability-data-infrastructure/) · [consumer technology adoption](https://digitalscientists.com/blog/rhtp-consumer-technology-adoption/) · [what happens when the money stops](https://digitalscientists.com/blog/what-happens-when-rhtp-funding-ends/)

## Industries

- [Energy and utilities](https://digitalscientists.com/energy/): Custom software for energy and utilities: grid operations, field workforce tools, and regulatory compliance.
- [Logistics and supply chain](https://digitalscientists.com/logistics/): AI-native software for supply chain, fleet, and warehouse operations. Senior US team, we've shipped for ToolsGroup, Fortna, NAPA, HD Supply, Hubbell, and…
- [Defense and government](https://digitalscientists.com/defense/): Mission-critical software for defense and government. Secure cloud, data analytics, and field-ready mobile apps. In the 13-month GSA Multiple Award…

## Trust & Security

- [Security and PHI handling](https://digitalscientists.com/healthcare/security-phi/): HIPAA-compliant infrastructure, BAAs executed before any data is exchanged, encryption at rest and in transit, RBAC, audit logging, zero breaches in DS history. SOC 2 Type II and HITRUST CSF are on the roadmap and not yet certified; controls run on ERAMBA.

## Insights

- [Where to start with AI](https://digitalscientists.com/blog/where-to-start-with-ai/)
- [How to pick the AI workflow that pays back](https://digitalscientists.com/blog/how-to-pick-the-ai-workflow-that-pays-back/)
- [The ROI of AI](https://digitalscientists.com/blog/the-roi-of-ai/)
- [Partner or in-house for an AI build](https://digitalscientists.com/blog/partner-or-in-house-ai-build/)
- [How Forward Deployed AI Engineering works](https://digitalscientists.com/blog/how-forward-deployed-ai-engineering-works/)
- [Getting healthcare AI into production](https://digitalscientists.com/blog/healthcare-ai-into-production/)
- [All insights](https://digitalscientists.com/blog/)

## Key Pages

- [About](https://digitalscientists.com/about/): Digital Scientists is an innovation partner for companies improving the human experience with technology. Strategy, engineering, and design, one team...
- [Ventures](https://digitalscientists.com/ventures/): Digital Scientists helps healthcare organizations own their innovation, built on their data, delivered at non-vendor speed, without becoming a software…
- [Careers](https://digitalscientists.com/careers/): Join Digital Scientists, a hybrid team of designers, developers, and product experts in metro Atlanta building exceptional digital experiences.
- [Start a conversation](https://digitalscientists.com/start/): Thirty minutes. Walk us through the problem you are trying to solve.

## Company Facts

- Founded: 2007
- Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia (serving all of metro Atlanta)
- CEO: Bob Klein
- COO: Nick Alexander
- Team: Senior US-based architecture and engineering. Digital Scientists leads every engagement; we bring in a nearshore partner team only where a specific client or stack needs added scale or a lower-cost engineer.
- Delivery model: Forward Deployed Engineering. Small pods, with the client's operations people working directly with a senior US-based engineer to define and improve the workflows being built.
- Focus: Prototype to production, systems of intelligence, Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE), custom software and product; deep healthcare proof (revenue cycle management, virtual care and patient engagement, clinical workflows)
- Compliance: HIPAA, HL7/FHIR
- Verified ROI: $20M+ across healthcare clients
- Key results: $2.4M+ compliant RAF revenue recovery, $10M+ PDPM optimization, $2M+ quality incentives
- EHR integrations: PointClickCare and Gehrimed in production, Epic in R&D, Cerner and MatrixCare via FHIR/HL7/ADT
- Engagement model: Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT)

## Contact

- [Website](https://digitalscientists.com)
- Phone: 404.654.3855
- [Schedule a call](https://digitalscientists3.pipedrive.com/scheduler/kOOeAEu2/meeting-with-bob-klein)
- Location: Atlanta, GA