Reuters Events | Pharma

Thought leadership and innovation for the Pharmaceutical Industry

This past October, I sat down with four transformational healthcare leaders at the MIT Museum in Cambridge, MA.  The panel represented a mix of the three archetypes of Prophet’s Evolved Healthcare Enterprise:  Transformers – mature, traditional healthcare companies seeking to better leverage modern approaches to growth, Invaders – well-established, fast growing non-healthcare organizations moving into the healthcare ecosystem.  And Creators – next-generation healthcare companies built from the ground up.

 

• Kelsey Yevak, Transformer: Sanofi is a “Transformer,” a long-established healthcare player, seeking to shift its business. Kelsey’s role as a software product owner is a prime example of that.

• Ali Tinazli, Invader: HP is an “Invader,” a well-established modern enterprise moving into healthcare. One of the original architects of HPs healthcare strategy, Ali recently joined Fluxergy a six-year old company, which falls under the “Creator” archetype.   

• Thane Wettig, Creator: Intarcia is a “Creator,” pre-revenue generating, with its first product launch target for next year. Thane leverages his 30 years of experience at Eli Lilly to drive disruption in therapeutics.

• Chris Burns, Creator: IngenioRx is a hybrid of a “Transformer” and “Creator,” as it a wholly owned subsidiary of Anthem that is less than a year old. Chris is part of the leadership team. 

 

Our panel provided interesting insight to what it takes to build and run an Evolved Healthcare Enterprise.  Here are five areas where evolved enterprises are leveraging their fresh perspective on healthcare to set themselves apart from competitors. 

 

1)  Experience is becoming more important than drug performance 

“It’s becoming less about developing new drugs and more about changing the administration of existing therapies,” commented Thane.  “If you look over the past 10 years at hemoglobin A1C (a marker of blood glucose control), you see virtually no change despite dozens of new drugs being launched.  The hardest thing is actually getting people to change their behavior.” Kelsey further emphasized this opportunity around adherence, “Only about a quarter of all patients are truly adherent to their medication.  And it’s not the drug that’s the problem.  It’s not translating into real life.”  Even discussing the term “adherence” feels clinical and unhuman.  There is a clear opportunity here for healthcare companies to embrace experience-centricity to drive real change in patients’ lives.

 

2)  Eliminating touchpoints is more important than improving them 

Thane took the importance of experience a step further, saying, “It’s about using technology to manage their disease and removing some of the human element of it.”  With Kelsey adding, “Patients visit their doctors two to three times a year.  If we can build products and solutions that use digital technology to better support them during much of their life, that will help them succeed with the management of a condition.”  The surge in experiences such as virtual care is the direct result of eliminating the need for a physical doctor’s visit. When complexity and confusion are the biggest barriers, removing touchpoints goes a long way. 

 

3)  Meaningful analytics is more important than data

“It’s not about knowing more. It’s about [evolving the] experience.  All the data and analytics in the world aren’t going to have an impact unless it delivers a new experience,” Chris stated.  Ali added, “Many companies fall short in analytics.  When you look at AI and Blockchain, it’s super smart but there is no proven evidence in many instances.”  Too frequently organizations get wrapped-up in creating complex algorithms that don’t have impact. Simple analytics that demonstrate impact are a better place to start.      

  

4)  GDPR is more of an enabler than a prohibitor  

Kelsey called out that, “People often see GDPR as being restrictive, but I see it as now having control of the data we collect. We’re seeing good statistics on people’s willingness to share their data, and GDPR has been facilitating that. It’s about transparency.”  Chris referenced a study that he found eye opening that reinforces Kelsey’s point. “A recent study from Oliver Wyman found that 63 percent of consumers are willing to share their personal health data to ensure their medical care is the highest quality possible. That to me says a lot to what people are looking for and they are not getting.”  Privacy and data security will always be important issue, but we can’t confuse that with people being reluctant to share their data.  It’s not a trade-off, it’s a combination of sharing with security and control.

 

5)  Culture is more about creating a rallying cry than employee satisfaction  

Chris considers culture to be the most important driver in defining an Evolved Healthcare Enterprise. “Culture needs to be based on a purpose and be an organization’s rallying cry.  You need to define it around ‘why we exist.’ It’s not about operating a business. It must be something bigger.” Ali added, “Culture is not just top-down. When middle management helps shape and demonstrate the culture an organization desires it takes shape faster than when it’s just top-down.”  

Thane reinforced both opinions, particularly for fast-growing organizations, “Given that we’re in a growth mode, we’re hiring a lot of people.  And beyond their experience and how smart they are, it’s incredibly important that they will fit with where we are going.”  Evolved Healthcare Enterprises routinely highlight the importance of culture, as growing organizations are continually evolving. When people are aligned to a purpose, it is natural for them to change roles and take on different responsibilities, making the organization more agile as a result. 

 

While each panel member represented a different type of Evolved Healthcare Enterprise, there was strong alignment around what drives success.  While all were looking at digital-first solutions, it was broadly recognized that being more digital isn’t just about technology and data.  It’s about being experience-first and culture-first. Those that rally around a shared purpose and focus on delivering winning experiences “unlock the powers of digital” to generate uncommon growth for their enterprise and drive value for their customers.