Forging Partnerships for outcomes-based healthcare: it’s Fundamental for Survival

If Walmart acquires Humana, and CVS acquires Aetna, what’s the basis for competition between them? How do suppliers of products compete? At our Health Business Unit at Wipro, our goal is to have a remarkable impact on the lives of patients. We are investing in finding new jewels in the industry and forging new partnerships. The conversations in the healthcare industry have shifted course ever since the confluence of digital and care delivery. The common denominator of these conversations being the health systems must be reimagined and designed for value and outcomes. New partnerships and business models will be fundamental to survival. Call it the Amazon effect.

Partnerships that would have surprised us a few years ago in the healthcare space are now a necessity to drive value. But how are these partnerships key to transform the healthcare ecosystem?

Co-creation is central to a healthcare strategy: The coming together of experience, research and technology can give us the opportunity to make systems more efficient, agile and bring about change faster and at scale. In healthcare, this means the potential to impact a billion lives for the better. Hospitals and universities are investing in innovation centres to get on the pressure of outcomes and cost reduction. Large health systems like Thomas Jefferson University, Kaiser Permanente, Cleveland Clinic, etc…have been pioneering collaborative innovation to drive better health outcomes with ideas like Kaiser Permanente’s reimagined hospital room, and the accelerator program of Cleveland Clinic with Plug and Play. We have invested in our Silicon Valley innovation centre that serves as a showcase for the 'Art of The Possible' and demonstrates innovation based on disruptive technologies. Our digital pod is built for digital strategy, design, and engineering teams to work in a collaborative and adaptive workspace, along with our customers.

The role of disruption in healthcare: Organizations are forging partnerships with technology leaders, academia, NGOs, and healthcare systems to deliver value-based care, enter markets faster or work towards improving care for chronic diseases and reduce healthcare costs. The shifting healthcare landscape has led to some unconventional partnerships outside of their traditional business area. Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan are coming together to help reduce costs for healthcare . Having no prior experience in the healthcare industry, the partnership was able to bring about disruption in the business model attempting to achieve the biggest goal of traditional health systems.

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, a leading biotechnology university, is working with Wipro to build an end to end diabetes management solution that attempts to eliminate the biggest challenges in managing diabetes – adherence and cost. This is an example of a disruptive partnership to take life saving devices to market. Wipro and many large health organizations have collaborated with PATH (an international organization that drives transformative innovation) to explore better health delivery to rural and under developed regions.

The potential of technology in healthcare: In the healthcare space, adapting digital is now a strategic decision that is being voted a definite need by many boards. Providers are increasingly focusing on a future of delivering care virtually and meeting patient needs more efficiently. The technology revolution in healthcare around data, artificial intelligence and digital patient engagement has the potential to surpass all other preceding trends. With sophisticated technology, we are in a position to apply health data in a customized way so that continuous care can be delivered anywhere, anytime. Furthermore, it is impossible to apply data insight to meaningful health instances unless there is a healthcare ecosystem working together with the patient at the centre.

The healthcare industry is uniquely positioned to leverage and learn from other industries and various other entities like research, academia and NGOs. The nature of innovation in healthcare is collaborative. Differentiated partnerships, although nascent, are beginning to materialize. Success in healthcare depends on building a robust ecosystem that brings in a broad level of expertise.

About the Author

Jeff Heenan-Jalil is the Senior Vice-President and Global Head, Health Business and is responsible for the business unit's P&L, strategy and operations.

Jeff, who has over 22 years of global diversified experience, has played numerous leadership roles within Wipro, where he has focused on building businesses of tomorrow for more than 8 years now.

He previously held the position of Global Head of Analytics Service Line, Advanced Technologies Group, Global Head for Telecom Equipment Vendor & Media Vertical's Chief Sales & Operations Head for Europe, and Head of Sales for Manufacturing in Europe.

In 2013, Jeff, who is currently based in the UK, was placed among the Top 50 in the Global Telecoms Business - Power 100 Rankings. He has been instrumental in building and scaling Wipro's Telecom Equipment Vendor (TEV) business successfully. His passion for excellence and flawless execution has helped Wipro achieve the tag of #1 R&D Engineering Service Provider, as per Zinnov's survey, for 2 consecutive years (2012 & 2013).

Prior to joining Wipro, Jeff was the Managing Director of the Telecoms and Energy Sector (UK) & BP Client Executive (Global) for EDS. He also represented Lucent Technologies as Director for the EMEA Product Management division, focusing on mobility, application and services. He was General Manager of the Global Supply Management Division for EDS New Zealand and was the Corporate Services Director (NZ) & Director of Procurement (Asia Pacific region) for Unisys, based in New Zealand.

Jeff also sits on the International Business Advisory Council (IBAC) for London (UK) and Italy since their inception. He is a board member of Digital Square, a newly formed body created as a part of Wipro’s PATH initiative with an aim to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC). He has previously served as a member of board for Opera Solutions.

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