Luther Gilford, MBA
Founder & Standards Director, HPI Institute
Luther Gilford is the founder of HPI Institute and the creator of the Health Performance Index (HPI), a standardized framework designed to measure and improve an individual’s ability to make informed healthcare decisions.
For more than 20 years, Luther has worked in the health insurance industry, helping individuals, families, and employers better understand healthcare benefits, costs, and coverage options. Throughout his career, he observed a common challenge: many people struggle to navigate the healthcare system effectively, often leading to unnecessary expenses, delayed care, poor health outcomes, and confusion about available resources.
These observations became the foundation for the Health Performance Index.
A Career Built on Education, Technology, and Problem Solving
Luther’s professional background spans healthcare, technology, education, training, and business development.
His experience includes:
- Over 20 years as a health insurance professional and benefits advisor
- MBA in Marketing
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering Technology
- College instructor responsible for developing and teaching database management curriculum
- Corporate trainer who designed and delivered customer service and support programs for a major utility organization
- Technical specialist with experience in computer systems, programming, software implementation, and business process improvement
- Business owner, product developer, and entrepreneur across multiple industries
This diverse background provided a unique perspective on how people learn, make decisions, and respond to complex information.
Author and Advocate for Healthcare Education
Luther is also the author of Healthcare & Selfcare Owner’s Manual, a comprehensive guide designed to help individuals better understand healthcare, preventive care, personal responsibility, and informed decision-making.
The book was developed from years of observing the challenges consumers face when attempting to navigate an increasingly complex healthcare environment.
Its central message is simple:
People make better healthcare decisions when they understand how the system works.
This same principle serves as the foundation of HPI Institute.
Why HPI Was Created
The Health Performance Index was created to address a significant gap in healthcare.
Employers can measure productivity.
Financial institutions can measure creditworthiness.
Schools can measure academic achievement.
Yet there has been no widely accepted way to measure a person’s healthcare knowledge, decision-making skills, and ability to navigate the healthcare system effectively.
The Health Performance Index was developed to help fill that gap by creating a standardized approach to assessing healthcare literacy, healthcare utilization awareness, preventive care understanding, medication management knowledge, and healthcare decision-making capability.
The goal is not to diagnose medical conditions or evaluate personal health status.
Instead, HPI focuses on measuring healthcare knowledge and decision-making skills that may influence outcomes, costs, and healthcare utilization patterns.
Building a Better Healthcare Future
Through HPI Institute, Luther’s vision is to help employers, health plans, labor organizations, educational institutions, and community organizations better understand and improve healthcare decision-making.
By providing measurable insights and educational pathways, HPI seeks to promote:
- Better healthcare literacy
- More informed healthcare decisions
- Increased preventive care awareness
- Improved healthcare navigation skills
- Reduced avoidable healthcare spending
- Greater personal accountability for health-related decisions
HPI Institute believes that informed individuals make better healthcare choices, and better healthcare choices can benefit employees, employers, healthcare organizations, and communities alike.
Professional Philosophy
“Healthcare is one of the most important and expensive systems that people interact with throughout their lives. Yet many individuals receive little or no practical education on how to use it effectively. My goal is to help change that.”
— Luther Gilford, MBA
Founder & Standards Director
HPI Institute