On Tuesday, 
Leadership Health Care (LHC) members gathered for an Executive Briefing series presentation by Michael Burcham, founder and CEO of Narus Health. In talking about the future of health care, Burcham highlighted several areas of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that he sees changing under the new administration.
“Most likely to change are moves towards expanding the use of health savings accounts; price transparency; selling insurance across state lines; and Medicaid block grants,” said Burcham. “A full repeal of the ACA will be challenging as people start looking at the details and recognize the devastating effect that a full repeal would have on our economy.”
Burcham also highlighted areas for innovation in health care, particularly focusing around the industry’s ability to bring health care to the patient.
“Change will not come by bricks and mortar but by clicks and mortar,” said Burcham. “Patients want health care served to them, they don’t want to have to go somewhere to get health care. I see technology-enabled services being the only way forward.”
Burcham went on to challenge the audience that when they think about health care’s future to think about how they can disrupt the status quo, particularly when it comes to patient experience.
“The experience is the product; it’s not about our technology, our processes, or our marketing plan. At the end of the day, the customer’s experience is the product,” said Burcham. “The ultimate aim of leadership is to create experiences for both your team and your customers that are memorable.”
When asked by an audience member how you get clinicians to change their mindset and culture around patient experience being the product, Burcham said it’s quite straightforward.
“Always remember what attracts clinicians to consider behavior change is not just the business model but the ability to embrace why they went into the medical field in the first place, which is their experience with the patient,” said Burcham. “Job satisfaction by clinicians is usually driven by the opportunity to make an impact.”
Finally, Burcham shared some lessons for leadership development and what it means to be a good leader. He highlighted that leaders should listen to those around them and develop understanding before asking a question or offering a critique. He also focused on the importance of purpose.
“A common purpose is the most powerful tool you have as a leader,” said Burcham. “A common purpose is deeply personal, extremely hard to develop and requires vigilance to keep adapting it over time as the team changes and grows. I’ve learned over the years to make sure we don’t lose that deeply personal reason we’re all working together.”
This executive briefing was part of ongoing programming for the Council’s Leadership Health Care initiative, offering members insight from national industry leaders in an interactive setting. For more information about LHC, visit www.leadershiphealthcare.com.