Ken Ernsting

Chief Executive Officer Solutionreach

Last Reviewed: September 26, 2026

Executive Summary

Ken Ernsting has been Chief Executive Officer of Solutionreach since August 2023. The company, based in Lehi, Utah, makes patient engagement and communication software for dental, optometry, dermatology and other specialty practices, and for large dental support organisations. He succeeded founder Jim Higgins. Ernsting is an operator who has spent his career in healthcare technology. Before Solutionreach he was Chief Operating Officer of the homecare software company HHAeXchange and, before that, of ABILITY Network, where he helped grow revenue from $15 million to more than $140 million ahead of its $1.2 billion sale to Inovalon in 2018. Earlier he held leadership roles at Sage, Emdeon and WebMD.

Career Highlights

• Appointed CEO of Solutionreach on 9 August 2023, taking over from founder Jim Higgins, who stayed on the board.
• Chief Operating Officer of HHAeXchange, a provider of homecare management software for payers and providers.
• Chief Operating Officer of ABILITY Network, helping grow revenue from $15 million to more than $140 million before Inovalon acquired it for $1.2 billion in 2018.
• Earlier leadership positions at Sage, Emdeon and WebMD.
• CEO when Solutionreach marked its 25th anniversary in July 2025. By then the company said it had sent more than 15 billion patient messages.

Professional Journey

Ernsting’s early career was spent at healthcare information businesses. Solutionreach’s announcement lists leadership positions at Sage, Emdeon and WebMD, without giving titles or dates.

He then became Chief Operating Officer of ABILITY Network, an information technology company that connected healthcare providers and payers. His time there was a growth story. Solutionreach says he helped take revenue from $15 million to more than $140 million, and the business was acquired by Inovalon in 2018 for $1.2 billion. He next served as COO of HHAeXchange, which makes homecare management software for payers and providers.

Solutionreach appointed him Chief Executive Officer on 9 August 2023. Founded in 2000 by Jim Higgins, the company was an early provider of text-based patient messaging, and has since built a broader patient engagement platform for healthcare practices. Higgins remained on the board, and Craig Frances, Managing Director at the investor Summit Partners, was quoted welcoming the appointment. Ernsting said at the time he was “inspired by the relentless focus that Solutionreach has on the transformation of healthcare through patient engagement.”

In October 2024 the company introduced a secure documents tool to help optometry practices comply with the FTC’s Eyeglass Rule. On its 25th anniversary in July 2025 it reported more than 15 billion messages sent over its history. “Over the past 25 years, we have always made improving the quality of patient care our top priority,” Ernsting said, and he described plans to add more advanced AI and strategic partnerships.

Education

No education record was found in any source reviewed.