Contributors: Robert C. McDonald, WG'92 and Bernie Zipprich WG’16
To learn more about Bob and Bernie, click here
Mainstage features included keynotes by John Lechleiter, PhD, CEO, Eli Lilly & Company, and Farzad Mostashari, MD, Founder and CEO, Aledade, and former National Coordinator for Health IT for the Department of Health and Human Services; a capstone debate/discussion between Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, Director of the Robert J. Margolis, MD, Center for Health Policy at Duke University and Cybele Bjorklund, Senior Fellow at Georgetown and former Democratic staff member for healthcare policy on the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, moderated by Elisabeth Rosenthal MD, Senior Healthcare Correspondent for the New York Times, on what lies ahead for healthcare policy in 2016 and beyond.
This year’s theme, “The Innovation Game: The Race Between Entrants + Incumbents” focused on the challenges faced by early-stage entrants and incumbents alike in the race to achieve innovation at scale. Questions addressed in detail included – Which organizations and business models will emerge as future market leaders? What are the bounds of competition and collaboration? And how will the policy context affect “The Race” going forward? This theme was explored through multiple panels featuring a wide array of industry leaders, and several Wharton HCM alumni, including Linda Bernier, WG ’93, VP of Market Solutions at Welltok, Sally Poblete, WG’00, and Tom Spann, W’81.
Another new feature this year was the first ever MBA healthcare “Shark Tank” competition, during which current full-time students pitched their ventures to a panel of sharks who were given the opportunity to make a potential investment. Among the sharks was Doug Present WG’90, who teaches the popular Healthcare Services class, a popular second year HCM elective. Organizations competing included one with a diagnostic device focused on simplifying colorectal cancer screening, one with a communications and education platform for physicians, one with a patented OB-GYN device, and, finally, one with a smart pill bottle capable of verifying whether the contents are counterfeit.
The clearest takeaways from the day were that over the five years post-ACA reform, new market contours are beginning to emerge. Organizations, both entrants and incumbents, are delivering within the incentive structure of this post-reform environment. Value-based business models are gaining traction and credibility; employers are becoming more discerning market participants and more willing to be disruptive forces; consumers are expecting more for their healthcare dollar; and cutting edge advances in life sciences and computer science are making the long touted promise of ‘personalized medicine’ increasingly a reality. Taken together, this dynamic suggests the players who are poised to achieve the greatest impact at scale aren’t necessarily entrants or incumbents; rather, it’s those who are realizing and pursuing partnership approaches and ecosystem-enhancing strategies. Finally, the policy trajectory of healthcare over the past five years and up to the time of this Conference seems to be rather stable; however, with 2016 being an election year, it is difficult to discern whether the current trends will continue after a change of administration – though the consensus of participants was that the emphasis on value-based delivery and payment models will continue.
The student chairs who organized the conference were Kristin Chan, Christian Peña, Shani Scharfstein, Bret Tenenhaus, Shalina Wadhwani and Bernie Zippirich (all WG’16). Each deserves our congratulations for putting on a very informative and engaging conference. We look forward to all the second year healthcare MBA students joining the WHCMAA upon graduation and contributing to our organizational mission of lifelong learning!
Contact Bob at: [email protected]
Contact Bernie at: [email protected]