In late 2019, the Fox School of Business launched the Philadelphia Healthcare Hub. Organized by the Translational Research Center and the Center for International Business Education and Research, this event series will explore the future of healthcare. The inaugural event focused on “Reinventing Healthcare and Biopharmaceutical Value Chains.” 

Leaders in practice, research, government policymakers and business executives gathered to identify a pathway forward for the healthcare industry in Philadelphia and beyond. Here are four key takeaways:

1. Disrupted Value Chains for Personalized Care

The healthcare industry is moving from one-size-fits-all toward personalized care. “Healthcare systems and physicians’ focus is shifting from acute care to chronic care,” says Dr. Vikas Khurana, CEO of Leg Healers, LLC. “This patient-centered approach is critical to improving both health system operations.”  

Drug manufacturers should understand that this medical model is the future. Stephen Sammut, senior fellow at the Wharton School, summed up precision medicine as “the right drug for the right patient at the right time.”

2. AI Affects Medicine 

Dr. Aldo Doria, director of Capital Health Cancer Center shared his experiences with robotic surgeries. “Like driverless cars, in the near future, we will see surgeon-less surgery.” 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has arrived in the healthcare sector. AI is expanding and revolutionizing both clinical and nonclinical processes—from diagnostics and triaging to revenue cycles and cybersecurity. Lamont Louis, COO of Einstein Physicians reinforced the message: “AI is critical in modernizing the revenue cycle management operations to increase the bottom line of healthcare systems.”

3. Local Clusters of Innovation

“The greater Philadelphia region is home to a large community of innovative, diverse and growing biopharmaceutical industry,” says Sam Woods Thomas, director of life sciences for the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Commerce. 

With innovations deeply rooted in geography, the Philadelphia area has become a leader in advancing cell-based research and therapies. Kevin Mahoney, DBA ’17 and CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS), shared his experience. “Penn has contributed eight FDA-registered drugs since 2017.” He envisions Philadelphia becoming the medical Silicon Valley of the East Coast, or “Cellicon” Valley. With support from the government, the city is primed to be the next global capital for reinventing the future of healthcare and biopharma industry.

4. Researching the Future of Healthcare 

While healthcare and biopharma value chains are being disrupted at an accelerated pace, stakeholders across the industry—biopharmaceutical firms, device manufacturers, healthcare providers, insurers and payers, government agencies and regulators—must understand and apply research in order to react to and predict the emerging new paradigms in the business of healthcare.

Moderated by researchers Subodha Kumar, Paul R. Anderson Distinguished Professor of Marketing and Supply Chain Management and Ram Mudambi, Frank M. Speakman Professor of Strategy, the event offered healthcare and biopharma executives opportunities to learn practical insights about their industries.  With a focus on community engagement and research leadership, the Philadelphia Healthcare Hub demonstrates the power of the Fox School’s strategic planning efforts to inspire high-level change. 

Are you interested in uniting industry leaders and research experts to advance the future of healthcare and biopharmaceuticals? Contact Ram Mudambi and Samy Govindasamy for more details.  

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