Becker's Hospital Review

23 WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP 23 CEO / STRATEGY Viewpoint: Don't demonize healthcare executives for creating profit By Georgina Gonzalez A mericans are misplacing their anger at the inaccessibility and high cost of the U.S. healthcare system toward CEOs and executives, Peter Ubel, MD, wrote in Forbes on Nov. 22, 2021. Dr. Ubel, a physician and behavioral scien- tist at Durham, N.C.-based Duke University, argued that the key to changing the prof- it-driven business practices in the system is to change the regulations about reimburse- ment. A system that allows for drug prices to be bumped up significantly above their value will inevitably invite greedy people who prioritize maximizing profit over patient well-being, he wrote. "e problem with American healthcare is not the existence of greed. It's the rules greedy peo- ple need to follow to make money," he wrote. For Dr. Ubel, the healthcare executives who are frequent targets of anger over the system have a limited power, as they themselves are beholden to their shareholders to turn a profit. "It's easy to demonize pharmaceutical compa- nies for hiking the price of their medications. But do you think the CEO of a pharmaceu- tical company would remain in that position by lowering the company's prices?" he wrote. He argued that "rather than vilifying pharma- ceutical CEOs or the companies they run for raising prices, we should think about how to combat those prices through rules and regu- lations." rough tying patient care to profit, the healthcare system could incentivize the executives to improve patient well-being as an extension of making money for the company, Dr. Ubel contended. n 5 ways to improve healthcare, per Intermountain's CEO By Georgina Gonzalez T he pandemic exposed many flaws within the U.S. healthcare system. Health systems can improve ac- cess, affordability and patient health by combining these five strategies to fix the system, Harvard Business Re- view reported Dec. 15, 2021. Marc Harrison, MD, CEO of Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare, shared five critical priorities for the U.S. healthcare system: 1. Focus on prevention. Given that the majority of Amer- icans live with at least one chronic disease, health systems should zero in on preventive care and help boost the gen- eral health of patients before they come in for specific prob- lems. 2. Tackle racial disparities. Address social determinants of health as a way of tackling racial disparities. Using data to understand patterns allows health systems to then make in- terventions. 3. Expand telehealth services. Centering a consumer ex- perience in healthcare by expanding telemedicine offerings and in-home hospital services can help meet patients' needs in their environment where they feel most comfortable. 4. Build integrated systems. Health systems that offer their own insurance plans or do so through partnerships are more financially resilient and can weather storms better. They can also more easily share learning and best practices. 5. Switch to a value-based model. These models can correct misaligned incentives and reduce healthcare costs by priori- tizing the health of patients and reducing the amount of treat- ments needed. n Top concern for CEOs in 2022: Job Security By Georgina Gonzalez D isruption of supply chains, labor shortages and desperately needed updates to corporate strategy have CEOs worried for what 2022 holds, but a top concern is their own job security, Bloomberg reported. New York based-management consultancy firm AlixPart- ners surveyed 3,000 executives across the globe to find out what they are most worried about, according to the Dec. 27, 2021, Bloomberg article. Concerns about job security came out as a top worry. Falling right behind the No. 1 concern of permanent labor shortages, and before the continuation of supply chain disruptions (69 percent) was worry about CEOs losing their jobs (72 percent). COVID-19 didn't make the list of top 10 worries. It came in at No. 19, with only 3 percent of executives listing COVID-19 as their primary concern for 2022. Simon Freakley, CEO of AlixPartners, told Bloomberg that despite the enormous disruption of the pandemic, the CEOs that made it through have had their attention turned to other challenges. "And then, of course, all the normal pressures of need- ing to drive revenue, needing to drive growth, were front and center again," he said. Looking to future strategy, executives revealed a desire for change. Fifty-seven percent of respondents said they fear their companies are not adapting fast enough. The vast majority of CEOs — 94 percent — said they think their business model needs an overhaul in the next three years, with many of them citing digital transformation and tools. n

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