Top takeaways from the Healthcare and Life Sciences keynote and actions you can take

By Tammy Luedtke, Director, Salesforce in Healthcare and Life Sciences

 

Even before the global pandemic, the healthcare and life sciences industry was growing and evolving rapidly. While the challenges of that pandemic have created enormous hardships across the ecosystem, they’ve also driven adaptation and innovation in technology. And one of the most critical outcomes of those innovations has been enhanced connectivity.  

 

Salesforce’s EVP of Healthcare and Life Sciences, DP Brightful, put it this way:  “We’re heading toward a future where siloes are linked together with digital bridges that provide completely reimagined health experiences.” 

But what does that improved connectivity look like practically? And how should it guide your organization’s planning and execution? Here are three takeaways from the keynote and actions we recommend you take  

 

#1:  Connectedness can improve patient outcomes 

 

Removing the obstacles between siloed teams or systems has been an objective and talking point in this industry for as long as I can remember. But as technology like Salesforce becomes more nuanced and flexible, connectedness is moving from an abstract principle to a tactical reality. Organizations no longer need to struggle to tie their data to their customer engagements. Personalization is more accessible than ever. And leaders looking for technology that gives them the power to adapt and thrive have options to choose from.  

 

But the reality is that connectedness doesn’t just benefit organizations; , the improved efficiency trickles down to patient outcomes. For example, historically, operational efficiency and collaboration have been intra-organization conversations. But today, inter-organizational digital collaboration is becoming both a possibility and a priority. So when primary-care physicians refer patients to specialists and prescribe medications, more seamless connections between all the stakeholders involved can automate tasks, streamline communications, and deliver faster, more personalized care.   

 

Actions you can take: 

If you're already on an enterprise CRM path, check in on how well you're meeting the shared vision and goals you set out to achieve. Can you measure the impact of your efforts and investment? If you're still aligning internally on what an enterprise CRM may mean for your organization, consider bringing stakeholders from across your organization into a facilitated workshop. Use that workshop to explore outcomes, identify blockers, and build upon the brands and experiences that inspire your stakeholders. 

 

#2: Prioritizing and rationalizing investments is crucial  

 

One of the best guests in the keynote was William Fleming, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Humana, who shared how Humana remains durable and sustainable in the market through (1) a customer-backed mindset, (2) investing in partnerships by recognizing their own positioning (i.e., not a tech company), and (3) a relentless focus on outcomes. Humana uses a test-and-learn mindset to better understand what customers want and need, often reading between the lines of its data. 

 

We’re seeing interesting partnerships emerge and new players who may dominate corners of the market sooner than later. In some cases, a strong partnership with a small, innovative startup may trump a larger company with more proven products. We’re also seeing fit-for-form applications become more popular within organizations to solve very specific needs. Without proper governance (from across business and IT) these applications are making it necessary to either justify or consolidate tools with overlapping functions before diving into a robust CRM transformation.  

 

Actions you can take: 

Start all enterprise CRM projects with a business plan that leads with the why. (Simon Sinek, who recently spoke at Slalom Presents, wrote an excellent blog post on this topic that is worth your time). With a business plan that clearly answers the why, explore the business capabilities that define what you want to do and when you want to do them by.  The how (i.e., what platform, tools, data, and integrations you use) must be informed by the why, and the what.  

 

 

#3 Salesforce is investing in the future through acquisition and product releases 

 

Salesforce is known for its growth through acquisition, and that trend continues.  Investments in MuleSoft, Tableau, Vlocity, and Slack have helped Salesforce accelerate its roadmap and capture more market lift—adding modern integration, data visualization, industry-driven workflows that build on its vertical focus, and productivity to its "digital HQ" respectively. In addition, Salesforce promises seasonal releases (three per year) to regularly deliver innovative features to its stack. 

 

Actions you can take: 

How might these investments impact your current Salesforce implementation?  The short answer is: it depends. If your transformation initiatives are losing steam with integration challenges and you aren't currently considering modern API architectures, it may make sense to consider an integration platform like MuleSoft. Surprisingly, we've found these projects to be business-led rather than IT-driven with outcomes like time-to-data (and insights) driving the conversation.   

 

If your users are looking for richer visual analytics, consider Tableau (which is probably already being used in some part(s) of your organization!). And if you're a Payer or Provider looking to streamline and automate front, middle, or back-office processes, consider exploring Vlocity Health. While Slack has been used by healthcare organizations for internal communications, it's HIPAA compliance and new channel to market (i.e., Salesforce customers) will propel it into more clinical use cases like care team collaboration. But keep in mind, like we explored in takeaway #2, it’s important not to start with the tool. Start with the business problem and the outcomes you want to achieve. Then use that framework to assess the right tools for your organization. 

 

End-to-end connectivity  

Throughout the healthcare and life sciences industry, connecting systems, stakeholders, partners, and customers is promoting efficiency and improving patient outcomes. And Salesforce Health Cloud can be a powerful tool in the journey to that level of connectivity.  

 

 

 

Slalom is here to help.  If you have additional questions or want to brainstorm ways Slack can help your business, feel free to reach out.