Becker's Hospital Review

58 INNOVATION What healthcare leaders can learn about innovation from Pfizer's CEO: 6 details By Hannah Mitchell I n March 2020 when COVID-19 swept the globe, Pfizer Chair and CEO Albert Bourla, PhD, challenged his team to de- velop a vaccine faster than has ever been done before. By November, Pfizer became the first company to develop a successful vaccine candidate, Dr. Bourla wrote in a report published by the Harvard Business Review in April. To do so within eight months took putting patients first, freeing scientists from financial targets and building a solid leadership team. Six things healthcare leaders can learn from Pfizer's strategy: 1. Connect scientists and executives to pa- tients. Pfizer needed to focus on both its pa- tients and shareholders to create value. Pfizer hung photos of patients on the walls of its buildings to drive that point home to execu- tives and employees, Dr. Bourla said. 2. Build a strong leadership team. Pfizer added a digital and technology officer to im- prove digital capabilities; a group president of the biopharmaceuticals unit to rethink its market model; a chief human resources offi- cer to encourage excellence, equity and joy; and an executive vice president to improve business services. From June 2019 to April 2020, Pfizer add- ed four board members with scientific or business expertise. 3. From manufacturing to senior execu- tives, success is a team effort. Dr. Bourla said every single Pfizer employee, from se- nior executives to transportation staff, was a vital part of vaccine development: "Without the tremendous sacrifices of team members who gave up their weekends and holidays, went months on end without seeing their families, and worked harder and more hours than they ever had before, we never would have succeeded." 4. It pays to put purpose first. e positive financial effect of the vaccine is only possible because the return on investment was nev- er a consideration, Dr. Bourla said. He said the private sector has a responsibility to help solve society's biggest problems. e typical vaccine development program can take up to 10 years and cost more than $1 billion. ere was no guarantee the program would be a success. "We did not want our decision to be driven by the need for financial returns alone," Dr. Bour- la said. "Saving lives — as many and as soon as possible — would be our top priority." 5. When setting a huge goal, encourage out- of-the-box thinking. What worked in the past will not create a new reality, he said. When teams presented Pfizer leaders with solutions that have already been done, Dr. Bourla said they kept asking for new creative ideas. Aer a few months, it became a habit for teams, and they brainstormed these ideas on their own. 6. Relieve scientists from financial con- cerns. Pfizer freed its scientists from exces- sive bureaucracy and didn't involve them in budget targets and annual earnings-per- share expectations. ey allowed them the leeway to spend as needed. n Lyft program allows patients to order free rides to healthcare appointments By Katie Adams L yft on April 15 rolled out Lyft Pass for Healthcare, a program that allows patients to order free rides to medical appointments, vaccinations and pharmacy pick-ups from Lyft's app. Healthcare and social services organizations have been providing free Lyft rides to patients for the last few years, but some patients have found it confusing to redeem those rides. Lyft Pass for Healthcare was designed to give patients more flexibility and control, as they can now order rides straight from Lyft's app. Under the program, sponsoring organizations choose their initiative's budget, each ride's maximum cost, pickup and drop-off locations and when free rides can be used. Then, they share free ride passes with patients via phone number, codes or links. Patients are notified in the Lyft app that the organization sent them a free ride pass, and they can order the ride when they are ready. Sponsoring organizations can also monitor their initiatives' utilization and spend with Lyft's reporting. "By leveraging our superpower in consumer tech, we've automated an important piece of health access that al- lows patients to be self-sufficient and in control, while allowing our partners to focus on the services they pro- vide, rather than on administrative processes," Megan Callahan, vice president of Lyft Healthcare, said in a company blog post. n

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