Latest news with #PrasannaParthasarathy
Forbes
02-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Harnessing Continuous Learning For Smarter Healthcare Systems
Prasanna Parthasarathy is the CEO of Medvantx, a non-commercial dispensing pharmacy. The world is undergoing rapid transformation. Artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and robotics are reshaping industries while evolving consumer expectations and a rapidly shifting global economy demand adaptability. Dynamic geopolitical shifts, trade tariffs and societal changes further complicate the landscape, requiring businesses to exhibit flexibility. Adapting to and thriving amid rapid change requires more than a mindset. To stay ahead, organizations need to constantly refine their approaches, driven by both technological advancements and an understanding of shifting market dynamics. I've seen within my own company how innovation driven by continuous learning can serve as a framework for improving patient care through data, analytics and human insight, enhancing outcomes and personalizing the experiences we provide customers and patients. The Principles Behind Continuous Learning Continuous learning is the pursuit of excellence through ongoing refinement, reflection and reinvention. It's taking a proactive approach to change and staying ahead by upgrading your internal capabilities, leveraging emerging technologies and anticipating market shifts to unlock smarter, faster and more future-ready ways to solve problems—both internally and for your customers. One way to bring continuous learning to life is by implementing a structured quality management methodology. Tools such as Lean Six Sigma, root cause analysis, value stream mapping and DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) can help improve consistency by minimizing variation across processes to emphasize waste reduction, efficiency and data-driven decision-making. They can also enable teams to identify bottlenecks and make decisions grounded in data rather than assumptions. By training your employees in these types of systems, you cultivate a workforce that's capable of driving change from the ground up while reducing time waste, enhancing workflow design and automating manual tasks. Your own data is a powerful tool for identifying areas for improvement, but your team still needs the ability to turn data-derived business intelligence into on-the-ground changes, whether they be changes to processes, products, service offerings, pricing or other facets of your operational or commercial strategy. Since it is not always obvious what changes will work best for each unique company, A/B testing can help you gather measurable data on what improvements will achieve the best results. Lessons In Leveraging Continuous Learning Continuous learning is a practical strategy that, when applied intentionally, can improve nearly every operational aspect of a business. For us, such initiatives transformed everything from our workflow for order entry to how medications are packaged and delivered. I recommend focusing any changes you make on three audiences: your team, whose dedication to continuous improvement is required to power the engine of change; your customers (in our case, pharmaceutical companies); and their customers, which may include both patients and providers. At its core, continuous improvement asks, "How can we do this better, more efficiently and with less risk?" Whether you're implementing a management methodology or updating your marketing strategy, these optimizations shouldn't stop at one-off fixes—they should evolve as technology advances, in order to create sustainable and scalable ways of pursuing excellence. Create a mindset of challenging yourselves to continually improve. Leveraging the skills and expertise of your own staff can allow you to unlock new ways to improve operations, harness automation and integrate AI into your workflows. Implementing these changes can directly benefit employees and customers. For example, we streamlined the manual process of account managers compiling and sending monthly service reports by implementing a cloud-based platform that gave customers real-time access to key performance metrics. Now, account managers have more time to build relationships, and customers get better data access. Customers in any industry want their vendors to be strategic partners who can anticipate needs and enable growth. In a rapidly changing economy, an ongoing commitment to continuous improvement—leveraging data as the backbone—can help you better support your customers. Any type of business can benefit from leveraging frontline learnings and data in product development. Our recent overhaul of our cash-pay product workflow illustrates this well. Cash-pay programs enable pharmaceutical companies to more easily serve customers for prescription drugs that are not typically covered by insurance, such as weight loss drugs, sexual health products and ophthalmological and dermatological treatments. Previously, our process depended on fragmented data from a third-party vendor, which slowed down our ability to fulfill customer orders. Our continuous learning mindset helped us reinvent the product from the ground up, addressing the shortcomings of the prior version from the customer and end-user perspective. You can also leverage continuous learning, facilitated by robust data and analytics, to predict the behavior of your customers' customers (i.e., patients) and to match your service offerings to their preferences. This approach draws inspiration from the omnichannel strategies used by e-commerce companies to create personalized user experiences. For example, some patients may desire a staffed phone line, while others will see more value in AI-driven self-service tools such as chatbots. I've seen the success of this approach and the benefits of planning for a future where AI solutions streamline currently manual processes. By offering a convenient and efficient self-service model, you can help your customers empower their patients and digitize their experience. Looking Forward Implementing continuous learning isn't an instantaneous choice. It requires a long-term investment in seeing through cultural, structural and educational shifts—moving beyond the desire for 'quick wins' and project-based improvements and toward a mindset of ongoing improvement across the organization. It's also not a series of one-time investments, but rather building a workplace culture of constantly innovating and iterating, leveraging data to guide business decisions and rallying teams to improve measurable outcomes. Investing in professional technical competencies and a quality management methodology can enable your teams to think systematically about change and to develop soft skills such as communication, teamwork and leadership. Building this foundation takes time, but when done right, it can result in an organization well-equipped to meet the challenges ahead. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
Forbes
11-04-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Using Technology To Improve Patient Centricity In Healthcare
Prasanna Parthasarathy is the CEO of Medvantx , a non-commercial dispensing pharmacy. getty What does it mean to improve the patient experience in our fractured healthcare system? Virtually all stakeholders in healthcare desire to improve access to care and to meet patients where they are, but in an increasingly complex system of providers, payers, manufacturers and patients, what does that even mean? During the Covid-19 pandemic, providers quickly pivoted to offer patients additional telehealth options. Along with this, cash-pay healthcare experiences became more common, particularly through direct-to-consumer offerings for lifestyle medications. While I see this as a huge step in improving the patient experience, it can't be the end. We owe it to patients to make accessing healthcare services and pharmaceutical products as easy and affordable as any other e-commerce transaction. Toward this goal, I believe we should rip a page from the playbooks of retail companies. The software tools to power a robust patient experience exist, but it's up to every stakeholder in the industry to strategically apply them to patient care. A Roadmap For A Patient-Centric Experience Imagine someone needs a new prescription. Traditionally, they might schedule a clinical visit (perhaps weeks into the future) and take time off work to travel to the appointment. They then have to wait in a waiting room before being seen. Then, after receiving their prescription, they have to drive to their pharmacy to fill the prescription and potentially meet with a pharmacist. To help streamline this process, we've seen numerous successful examples of telehealth, ranging from companies like Teledoc and MDLive, which offer a broad range of services, to more specialized providers like Vivus, Hims & Hers and Ro. In taking lessons from these examples, it's important to focus on speed, legitimacy (e.g., using licensed providers), affordability and transparency. Things like virtual appointments allow patients to consult from the comfort of their home or workplace, saving time and improving accessibility. Those in the industry can also look to services beyond medication by offering additional health support, such as follow-up consultations, mental health resources and wellness programs. Make sure to provide flexible payment options, including direct pay or insurance claims, to reduce financial barriers to care. Additionally, I recommend partnering with trusted healthcare providers and pharmacies to help with the logistics when it comes to shipping medications, treatments or necessary equipment with the option for tracking. Throughout the process, it's important that patients have access to professionals for ongoing support—whether it's with a pharmacist, a nurse or a counselor. An Omnichannel Approach To implement this kind of patient experience—often called an omnichannel approach—healthcare organizations should focus on integrating provider interactions and digital platforms into a single, seamless experience. Start by ensuring patients can easily schedule appointments and communicate with providers through user-friendly tools like email, chat or telehealth portals. Simplifying prescription management and payment processes can further enhance accessibility and adherence. Expanding virtual care capabilities is another crucial step. By enabling patients to connect with specialists regardless of location, healthcare organizations can bridge gaps in access, particularly for rural communities that previously lacked options beyond their immediate area. As is probably evident by now, a key element of this model is consistent communication across all platforms and providers. I find that this digital architecture not only improves patient engagement but also streamlines operations for healthcare providers, creating more consistent records and smoother handoffs between patients, providers and pharmacies. Such an experience leverages technology to improve patient-provider interactions but has the additional benefit of enabling providers to focus on delivering patient-centric, value-based care, where every patient interaction is meaningful and integrated across the healthcare ecosystem. Considerations For Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Implementing Patient-Centric Care Models As regulated industries, pharmaceutical companies, providers, pharmacies and payers face many challenges associated with meeting regulatory requirements, which in the U.S. can differ by state or territory. Compliance is not just a legal necessity—it's a foundational aspect of maintaining trust and ensuring patient safety. From data privacy regulations like HIPAA to state-specific prescribing and telehealth laws, meeting these obligations requires vigilance and adaptability. But doing patient-centric care well requires more than just regulatory compliance. Pharmaceutical companies should carefully select a partner or set of partners able to offer services that map to the full patient journey. It's critical that partners be able to offer: • A robust telehealth provider network that is able to serve all applicable states and territories, with service in multiple languages. • A pharmacy partner similarly able to serve patients in all geographies and with multiple languages, ideally with a redundant supply chain to ensure your patients will always receive their prescriptions on time. • Multiple communications channels (web, phone, email, etc.) to meet patients where they are whether they are digitally savvy or have limited comfort using technology. • Clinical and regulatory stewardship to ensure the stability of the relationships long term. • Cybersecurity capabilities and a thought-through approach to protecting sensitive patient data amid a potential cyber attack. Looking To The Future Despite healthcare being highly regulated, and thus change difficult, I believe it's time for healthcare to leverage the technological innovations that have rapidly redefined how the retail space engages with consumers. In a world where you can turn off Spotify on your computer and pick up at the same place in the same song on your phone, healthcare providers must make it possible to virtually see the best specialists for any condition, have that provider access your complete medical history and be able to prescribe you medication that can be delivered to your door next day. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
