I was reminded of how fortunate we are to have this group when LSA sponsored an interview forum on June 24, 2013 with the relatively new CEO of Medtronic, Omar Ishrak who hailed once from GE Medical. Here is the LSA post-event email (and if you'd like, you can join MassDevice and listen to the podcast):
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Wearing a pink shirt and tan suit that didn't really go with it, in my view, and with his bald head, glasses, and wide smile, my impression of Omar Ishrak is that he is a confident leader who reflects on how the moves he makes affects Medtronic as well as the world at large. My main takeaways from the interview are:
- The "symbolic gift" Bill Hawkis received as CEO of Medtronic was a sword; Omar said his "symbolic gift" was the globe. Very cool to think of medtech evolving in a truly global marketplace.
- The importance of data is growing in healthcare, and data sharing will get us to a place where everyone can benefit from it. (Yale Infuse study.)
- Time to leverage the assets we've grown under our country's financial support of the medtech industry to go to other places.
- What is economic value? All of those approaches. Translation of clinical value to economic value in very granular terms. Through that, the focus of R&D is figuring out where the value is captured. What $ to bring to market. Everything we do has a clinical value and a corresponding economic value. Provide it in a way that hospitals and Doctors and Patients can relate to. Granularity is important; generality can't do.
- I was reminded of my summer intern Zac Dalton's work at Guidant when we developed the value framework for heart failure sensors; as a brilliant former Intel engineer, he brought order to this equation with the following process diagram, which I have evolved in my work with MedLinX and WMDO:
- Helath care outcomes WW are incredibly different, but cost - if we improve outcomes, cost comes down, not up. Improve care so we can bring cost down.
- Global markets? We have to see what the markets want. We have to know the value technology brings to those markets.
- What kind of better? "Ending desire for better healthcare."
- Emerging markets: not technologies, but solutions in line with what people can afford (only 15% of people can afford Medtronic technologies now in emerging markets.) But a $5 bn/year opportunity. Remaining 85% - as middle class rises, government provides more so MDT's cost goes down; then there will be even bigger opportunities.
- How does the patient get the Rx? Awareness - then Market Development! (ala Dymedex Medical's market development methodology:
- Hospitals are around; training and awareness is missing. (and referral development & care pathways.)
- What knowledge are you bringing back to the U.S.? Learning the healthcare systems - the end market in China is way bigger than what we can do.
- When you leave Medtronic, what do you want the company to look like? Transform from device co. to Healthcare Solutions company. Pay for value better understood. Equal access around the world. Markets will be bigger, but not challenge the level of care that developing countries have.
The forum also included a panel discussion by CEOs from the medtech industry including John Russell, my former boss at Guidant who is now CEO of Corventis, and the CEO of Orthocor Medical and Debra xxx from Advamed. In general, my takeaways from this panel discussion is that regulatory and reimbursement challenges, in addition to the medical device tax, are squeezing small company's ability to innovate. Their stories brought these messages home. I hope we as a country can find the right balance to make innovation the cure for what ails our healthcare system.
Thank you again, LSA, and Omar Ishrak and the panel members. A great evening.
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