Jeffrey Hogan

Post Covid, healthcare innovation is really important especially because, pre-Covid, health consumers were an oxymoron. Limited services from legacy providers during the pandemic laid bare the fragility of the care access and payment system it was built on. Lots of innovation has occurred since then and teams must understand how innovation must be matched with the needs of populations. There is a tendency to think of healthcare innovations in a silo. The true value of innovation is its ability to nimbly and consistently integrate into precision care paths and to work synchronously with other innovations to manage complex needs. Teams must embrace changed and non linear mindset thinking. This requires an outcomes focused approach.

Often, many of the folks that you want to connect with at conferences are speaking in sessions or participating on panels. They get descended upon after they speak or participate. For those I want to connect with, I make it a point to contact them at least two weeks before the conference and ask to schedule a specific time to meet during the conference. I also give them a very SPECIFIC reason that I’d like to connect with them along with a SPECIFIC allotment of time, i.e. 15 minutes. Often, influencers or high value persons are very busy and they are very disciplined about who they’re willing to meet with. Often people at conferences just want to pitch what they’re selling. Tell them how what you’re doing complements their goals.

Many of the largest healthcare purchasing coalitions like PBGH, HTA, the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser’s Coalition, Catalyst for Payment Reform, the Leapfrog Group, the Business Group and Health and regional employer coalitions offer excellent virtual and in person events to connect with professionals. Also, organizations like the Validation Institute offer numerous conferences to meet people and to intake valuable information on products, services and innovations. There are also a number of excellent healthcare podcasts that are informative and easy to consume.

I agree, but healthcare is extremely complex and it is critical to first understand some of this underlying complexity relative to both healthcare supply and demand. A few major health plans have traditionally served to manage most of the enterprise functions on behalf of healthcare purchasers. It’s critical to network with subject matter experts in all of the various aspects of the healthcare ecosystem and to find influencers testing the status quo with innovative and disruptive models focused on superior consumer value. Because of the advent of AI and superior healthcare analytics; new business models are emerging to challenge the status quo. Set goals once you understand the existing system and the proposed new paradigm.