MBA - IHM Module 4 - A Rendezvous with Healthcare Innovation, Puzzle and the US Capital
In September 2022, I started a 20-month journey towards an MBA in International Healthcare Management at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management .
The MBA program is part time with 8 modules of one week in length modules set in various places around the world.
It is no surprise that healthcare is evolving at lightning speed and the COVID-19 pandemic had in many ways changed the landscape of healthcare globally beyond recognition. Arguably, often for the better but have no doubt exposed weaknesses of different healthcare systems be it public or private. This triggered the beginning of my “Going back to school” project.
This is my reflection on module 4 with entries for each module to come as I document this journey and how I emerge in 2024 both academically and professionally. This module has the most pre-module reading to date with the assignment contributing to a significant percentage of the academic merits. We will see very quickly from day 1, why. Here’s how my perception of ‘what is healthcare innovation’ evolved so significantly during this module 4 journey
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Frankfurt School Blog:
Jetlag and a dawn walking tour of national monuments – Washington DC June 2023
The longest commute to a module so far, arriving at Washington Dulles International Airport very early in the morning, I was grateful to have two days before the first day of class following a 14.5 hours flight from Dubai. For our sole North American representation James Donihee, MBA, CCRP D, it was a payback for everyone else since he would always have the furthest to travel. Nice of him to join the gang anyway for the extra day tour of the US Capital.
An early dinner proved to be ambitious as 3 out of 4 of us started crashing at the restaurant before 8pm so we decided to give up on the food and headed back for an early night.
At 3.30 am, my eyes were wide open and after nearly an hour of failed attempt to go back to sleep, I discovered that PD Dr. med. Elke Maurer and Tobias H?genauer were also awake, and we decided to get the James up too which I am sure he wasn’t too impressed. Before 6am, we were all on the street exploring the White House area and some main monuments feeling like we had the city all to ourselves. The sunrise lighting allowed for some stunning photography around the monuments but also a strangely intimate setting for 4 friends catching up.
A quick caffeine fix, some breakfast and soon we were on our way in an Uber heading towards Baltimore before mid-day. The rest of the day was just checking into hotel, familiarizing the area (within the green zone) and getting ready for the intensity of the next seven days. I also took some time to prepare for the 2 job interviews I would have to do over Zoom in between classes.
Diving into Healthcare Innovation at Johns Hopkins - Carey Business School
This module is hosted by The Johns Hopkins University - Carey Business School and the first morning, we were briefly welcomed by Vice Dean for Faculty and Research, Dr. Goker Aydin and Vice Dean for Education and Partnerships, Dr. Lasse Mertins before the fully loaded module got underway.
It was apparent to me very quickly, why we were tasked with so much pre-reading material. We were able to get right into detailed discussions on deeper level and the background information fresh in everyone’s mind on many case studies fueled some intriguing discussions cleverly moderated by Prof Toby Gordon .
We first looked at the industry as a whole, the ongoing cost conundrum in healthcare from the perspective of businesses, providers and payers as well as the impact it has on access to care for patients. Appropriately, we had prominent guest speakers in Dr. Reuven Pasternak, MD MPH MBA Pasternak, a U.S. Health Policy Senior Advisor as well as Dr. Marty Makary who spoke about “re-design of health care” that talks about the importance of prevention in healthcare.
Throughout the week, we delve into various transformations in healthcare drawing from case studies in pre-module reading materials such as Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic and evolution of Walmart Health and the different strategies adopted. Dr Toby Gordon’s very practical and hands-on approach to teaching (including roleplay) also got everyone very engaged in sharing their own experiences, bringing case studies from all our respective regions and healthcare systems.
On disruption in healthcare through innovation, we explored different technologies that changed the industry in evert aspects from cost, processes, quality, care delivery through to patient engagement by both clinical and non-clinical teams. Further guest speakers who contributed in their own ways to the US healthcare shared their journeys with us throughout different sessions of the week.
Innovation did not stop with healthcare during the week, there was a live coaching session by Dr Carl DuPont, D.M.A. of the JHU Peabody Institute. Dr Dupont, also an accomplished opera singer shared some wisdoms on public speaking for professional.
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Talking Healthcare Project Management with a Puzzle
Throughout the week, we have had several sessions on project management and more specifically in different context within healthcare. The delightful Dr. Bill Agresti also came in to share his extensive experience and journey in project management.
When I say Prof. Dr. Rainer Sibbel is charming, he really is. In over 20 years of my career, from banking to education and now in healthcare, I have managed many small and large projects but never have I project managed a puzzle! That is until June 2023. This is the way he demonstrated the important trades and key challenges of being a project manager and it made it fun although not the best for my heartrate even when compared to multimillion projects!
Safe to say all of us will never be able to detach project management with a puzzle of the Eiffel Tower. Even the choice of puzzle image was carefully selected to highlight important points
Watching Healthcare Innovation in Action
When I say this module was fully loaded, it was in all aspects and the site visits were as jam packed as the classes.
On a sunny Sunday morning, we were hustled into a bright pink bus at 7.30am headed for Washington DC. Upon arriving at Johns Hopkins Sibley Memorial Hospital where we would spend most of the day we were met by Dr Al J. Browne (Dir. Of Community Health Design) who introduced us to two inspiring healthcare entrepreneurs, Dr Jalan Burton MD, MPH and Ms Tambra Raye Stevenson , that went into business because of massive gaps in their own communities that needed desperately to be filled due to the failings of the healthcare system.
We then had the opportunity to visit the new soon to re-open ICU that has been future proofed, and innovation clearly centered around patients and their family. This was definitely a kid in a candy store moment for me having the opportunity of a guided tour with ?Caroline Shafa proudly (and rightfully so) highlighted and answered questions on all the thought process that went into behind-the-scenes design and implementation.
On a different afternoon, the visit to Johns Hopkins’ ARCADE lab led by Dr Mathias Unberath is likened to throwing a bunch of kids in a toy factory. How often do you get to play with a Davinci Robot (amongst others) while learning about what the team is working on to further enhance the value to care delivery. Dr Therese Canares, MD, MBA then gave us an overview of her journey into entrepreneurship before we were whisked away to the next site.
At Protenus ’ large open office space, CEO Nick Culbertson presented a very different kind of technological innovation utilizing AI to create a sustainable method of managing risk in healthcare. For me, having so many years of technology and risk management background in banking, this was an inspired product that I did not expect until now. Hats off!
Chewed by the Sharks
We were told at the start of the week that the group assignment for this module would be a shark tank concept assessment where each group would be given a topic to work through and pitch our idea to a panel of sharks on the final day. Not much of a reality tv person, I had no idea what it was till I watched some YouTube videos that night.
It added a different element to the challenge and boy were we chewed up by the sharks! That said, I must admit they were all very constructive feedback and a lot more polite than what I saw on YouTube. It certainly triggered some reflection on how I would approach a pitch in the future.
Reflection
This module is by far the most intense of all the modules we have had, if I were to document the week in detail, it would be the length of a book. It was, however, the most rewarding for me to date. I really enjoyed digging into all the different aspects of healthcare innovation and the opportunity to witness some in action. Digital health and AI might be what most people associate to innovation, there is so much more to it and so much more opportunities out there. Cost is obviously an huge factor but the innovation to manage that can come from so many directions, payers, providers, processes and prevention just to name a few. I don’t know where my next role within healthcare might be but it gives me much confidence that everyone can bring something to the table from their prior experience as long as the drive is there to put in the time and effort.
I really enjoyed Prof. Toby Gordon ’s approach to teaching and was very open about discussing the strengths and pitfalls of the US healthcare system particularly when it comes to access to care. If we can’t be transparent about the problem, we are limiting the opportunities to learn from it. It appears to me that most of the guest speakers also adopt the same mentality hence carving out opportunities for their own niche. No surprise that the US is one of the largest investors in healthcare innovation.
If there was one thing that stuck to my mind more than anything else from this module, was something Dr Jalan Burton MD, MPH said during her presentation at Sibley Memorial Hospital. In her own words, she is a reluctant entrepreneur that went into business out of necessity. She combined her passion to make a serve her community and the frustration with a system that is failing this same community to create an opportunity that makes a difference and a new career for herself. She didn’t try to solve the world problem (or even the country’s) but rather do something great for her community where the state has failed and influencing other similar communities across the country to do the same. She took a personal risk investing into this venture and doing it all with extremely positive attitude. That inspired me.
I had mentioned in earlier articles that one of the many rewarding aspects of this small group specialized program is the strong network built even within the in-take. We started the journey together for all our own individual motivation and will likely complete this chapter of our career investment together in 2024. As we stand today at the official mid-way point of the program, for me personally, the most rewarding to date had also been the friendship that some of us have developed like we have known each other for years. It has been a challenging few months for me and perhaps without realizing it, some had been massive support to me whether it is during the module and beyond. We know healthcare is about people and caring for people, medical degrees, innovation, and MBAs does not replace the need for basic human compassion and it certainly isn’t lost on me that I am on this journey with a small group of healthcare professionals with many that we meet along the way, who value this as much as I do. I am hopeful.
One person that pulled this very engaging week together was Michelle Graham where everything was planned out with military precision. It wasn’t just the classes, lunches, and site visits. We had networking events with professors, students and alumnus from John Hopkins, a night tour of Washington DC and for me personally, a meeting room setup for me to attend a zoom job interview. Thank you!
The two important constants of our MBA journey, Prof. Dr. Rainer Sibbel and Annette Wright as always were never far from offering any guidance and support when needed.
50% done and onwards to Singapore!
Professor, Healthcare Management,JHU Carey Business School
1 年I enjoyed reading this and learning about my teaching style!