November 17, 2022 • 23 mins
Emily Gallo didn't always know that she'd be in a key leadership role at one of the largest and most well-respected healthcare organizations in the world. Early in her career, she faced a fork in the road: either move to Colorado to coach high school soccer and teach physics, or move to Boston and try her hand at consulting. She chose the latter, and it has led to a highly satisfying career in healthcare.
Join Emily and host Shiva Mirhosseini as they discuss how to keep things moving during periods of disruption, as well as where Cardinal Health is headed in the next 12 months.
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Episode Transcript
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S1 (00:09):
Hi. Welcome to Paving the Path. I'm your host, Shiva Meter.
Say me. People know me as a customer experience champion
and a digital executive at Fortune 50 companies. I plan
on paving the path in my show with women game changers,
thought leaders and executives touching the entire spectrum of digital
transformation in health care. Join me in exploring the digital
(00:32):
renaissance that's shaping health care today and forever changing the
future of wellness, care and health. Hello, everyone. Thanks for
joining us for another episode of Paving the Path. Today,
our special guest is Emily Gallo. She is the senior
vice president and general manager for up to freight logistics
(00:56):
at Cardinal Health. You might be asking yourself, what we
talking about logistics today? Well, it turns out that leading
into the pandemic during and now coming out of it,
logistics and supply chain has played a significant role in
the global health care and patient outcomes. And I wanted
to bring a special guest in in Emily and her
(01:17):
work and Cardinal Health's focus on supply chain and logistics
in order to really shine light on some of the
great work initiatives and advancements in both people and technology
that are applied in the industry and how that's transforming
health care as we know it. Fun fact, Emily and
I actually went to business school together, so we know
(01:38):
each other from way back when. And it's amazing to
come full circle and sit together at this table to
discuss health care now and how her work is changing
and transforming patient outcome provider experience and much more. So
with that, I want to welcome Emily. It's a great,
(01:58):
great pleasure to have you here. Thank you so much
for joining us.
S2 (02:01):
Sure. Thanks for having me. I'm honored to be invited.
I've listened to your prior podcast and what a group
of talented executives improving the lives of patients. So I'm
really excited. I enjoy chatting with you anyway, and to
do so in this forum is is really meaningful.
S1 (02:16):
So, Emily, tell us how you got here. What got
you interested in health care and what's important to you.
S2 (02:23):
If you've ever faced a fork in the road? That
is what got me into into health care. Graduating from college,
I was either going to move to Colorado, coach high
school soccer and teach physics, or move to Boston and
try my hand at consulting, and I ended up choosing
the latter. I'm happy with that decision, though. I always
(02:43):
wonder where that other path would have led. But I
really happened to fall into health care. The consulting firm
focused on the diagnostic space, and I knew right away
that I wanted to be in healthcare for the rest
of my career. And what got me excited about it
was not only was it interesting to learn about products
(03:03):
and technology and the development of new therapeutics, but you
got to learn about disease states and the impact that
had on patients and their families, and that was that
combination was really powerful. I didn't know how in health
care I would serve over the years, but I knew
it would always be a staple. And I had the
chance to experience both the U.S. health system and abroad.
(03:27):
The last year I was with my consulting firm. I
relocated to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to lead up their Latin
America practice. And it was so interesting to see just
how different health care is delivered and experienced in different countries.
You mentioned other roles, other companies that I've been with,
Merck and Sales and global marketing abit more on the
(03:48):
consumer health side and now joined Cardinal about eight years
ago came in more of an engagement strategist for executives
that I led a number of our medical product businesses
think about exam gloves and and surgical gloves and ways
that we help protect health care providers and then most
recently moved into the role of senior vice president, general
(04:11):
manager for a company called Active Freight Logistics, which is
part of of Cardinal Health. So I really enjoyed the
variety of what it means to impact health care and
working with smart and talented people along the way.
S1 (04:23):
That's fascinating, Emily. And I think just hearing you talk
about your career shows how complex and multifaceted the health
care industry is and how much it has grown and
become even more complex over the years. So talking about complexity.
Can you give us a layperson's explanation of what Cardinal
(04:44):
Health does your role and how it's different?
S2 (04:48):
Cardinal Health is a Fortune 15 organization with more than
44,000 employees globally, and we play a big role in
connecting the continuum of care with. You do it by
linking the clinical and the operational side of health care.
And we are a major pharmaceutical distributor or a global
manufacturer and distributor of med products. And we also provide
(05:11):
performance and data solutions for health care providers and their
institutions of different logistics really plays in that third category.
And the way I describe OPPT, afraid to my friends,
my family, right. Think about a hospital or a laboratory
or a pharmacy and all the packages that go in
(05:32):
and out of that institution on a daily basis. A
lot of those packages go through what we would consider
prime distribution, which is the bread and butter of the
larger cardinal health. But more than half of those packages
go outside of that of that track. And that's where
Opti Freight comes in. We help our health system, health
care provider customers have visibility into what is coming in
(05:56):
and what are they sending. And it may sound operational,
but it really cuts to the chase of are they
able to provide the patient care that they want? Do
they have the products as they need? And especially in
this environment where they're looking for value and savings under
every rock. How do they get smarter? How do they
use data to make better decisions on what to send,
(06:19):
where to send it, and how to have that control?
So that's what it's all about.
S1 (06:22):
That's fascinating. So let's dive a little bit deeper. I
think it's fair to say, and I'm sure you agree,
that most consumers don't quite understand the complexity of the
current health care system, nor should they care. They want
care when they needed it the most accessible and personal
way possible. They want a better experience. So how is
(06:44):
the team of cardinal holes in your role considering supply chain?
And what we experience throughout the pandemic is contributing to
the future of a more consumer centric health care model?
S2 (06:56):
It's a great question. It's something I think all of
us in the ecosystem of health care are embracing right
this and driving towards this consumer led approach. And it's
interesting because you think about supply chain, and I bet
if you grabbed any passerby on the street before the
pandemic and asked them, do you know what an isolation
(07:20):
gown is or what style facemask do you most prefer?
They would have looked at you like you had three heads, right?
But the aspect of the pandemic, the constraints that you're
talking about on supplies and the direct impact that it
had on consumers, on patients, it actually brought up supply
(07:40):
chain and the concept of it into the forefront. And
we have people, whether it's your couch that you ordered,
you know, 18 months ago, that still hasn't arrived or
it's having to skid to cancel surgeries. Right. If you
if you're not able to get the products that you need.
These are real instances of impacting the consumer experience. Cardinal
(08:02):
Health is on the forefront of looking for ways to
apply the learnings that we had through the pandemic. Invest
in technology. This podcast is all about digital health. What
have we learned and how do we apply that so
that we are constantly scraping, learning, looking at scenario planning,
(08:22):
looking at end to end visibility that can help us
see what's around the corner and importantly from a resiliency standpoint,
have alternatives ready to go to make sure that that
consumer experience is not disrupted in that way. But it
goes beyond that, right? It goes to the point of
when Cardinal is working in a silo. That's one thing.
(08:47):
If Cardinal is working in collaboration with our health care providers,
with other stakeholders in the industry. I think that is
one of the biggest silver linings that came out of
the pandemic is we all came to the table and
with the customer at the center had to think about
what do we do now and what's in our power
(09:07):
to the best of our ability to make sure this
doesn't happen again.
S1 (09:10):
I love that. You know, the old saying never let
a crisis go wasted is is kind of the situation
we find ourselves with the COVID pandemic. And what you
are describing and what it brought out of the system
is very revealing and inspiring. At the same time, despite
all the pain that we had to go through. So
(09:32):
let's unpack a little bit here. What are some of
the areas of progress in health care that tend not
to get the spotlight but are incredibly important.
S2 (09:42):
To continue on The theme, actually, of our our last question.
What comes to mind is the ability to to collaborate.
You can have the shiniest technology that's out there, but
if you don't have the right people around the table
working towards the. Common goal than nothing will progress at
the pace that you need it to. So one of
(10:04):
those areas that it doesn't get the headlines, it's not
a front page article, but one of the biggest ways
that I think we've changed for the good is the
common alignment of what needs to be done and the
openness to share more information, to think creatively together and
co-create where we can go. And I'll give you a
(10:25):
real example. I actually recently attended industry organization that by
design has select numbers of health care provider supply chain
leaders as well as industry supply chain leaders. So think
about Cardinal Health being one and the entire purpose of
that engagement over three days, right where we're sitting in
(10:47):
rooms together or not selling to one another. We're not
talking about the transaction nature that you just brought up, right?
We are focused on those meaty and macro challenges that persist.
The concept of how do you have a resilient and
agile supply chain? The idea of with the great resignation
(11:09):
that's taking place. How do we think about labor and
what does it mean to build a deeper pool of talent?
What are best practices of making sure diversity is part
of the equation on your on your talent strategy? All
of these things, we can work together to be stronger.
And the outcome of that was actually a blueprint of
(11:29):
a supply chain resiliency model that was co-created by both, again,
the hospitals and major health systems that are out there
in the industry, supporters of them to acknowledge where we
fell down and what are we investing in to get
after it. We have invested, particularly with Cardinal Health, in
(11:51):
what we would call more of a advanced planning system.
This is a platform that takes input from going back
to raw materials through to where are they manufactured through
to what is the pathway or routes, right, that would
move it from one continent to the next. And how
are we ultimately matching that up with demand signals that
(12:13):
we are seeing from our customers and through that investment
and importantly, through that openness and collaboration? We now have
more data than ever that matched the supply and demand signals.
And for a supply chain to be resilient, that has
to be at the core.
S1 (12:28):
I love that term, you know, making supply chain as
resilient as possible and in doing so, bringing that customer
experience and customer driven customer centricity to play, to really
engage all the constituents and players along the way from
the first kind of mile to the last mile. And,
you know, it's funny, the example that comes to my
(12:49):
mind is ordering pizza and kind of like seeing from
the first moment you put the order in all the
way to the delivery moment, how it comes to life.
And it's been set to be one of the most
engaging experiences, and it has helped quite significantly with all
sorts of economic metrics, but also more importantly from a
customer experience. And so that's a simple example. But certainly
(13:13):
doing something like that at a global scale with supply chain,
with millions of variables is monumental and very, very difficult.
But seems like we are getting there, which is very promising.
S2 (13:25):
That's a great recap of what we're striving to do,
and it does come down to the experience of the
customer in the sense being health care providers. But ultimately,
what is their ability to provide care to their patients?
S1 (13:37):
Emily Let's talk about the future, the near future. Where
is Cardinal Health headed in the next 6 to 12 months?
S2 (13:43):
You talk a lot about the consumer, right? The customer
centric nature of our our systems, and that's the guidepost
that we use on how we we need to advance.
And it's it's been cool because so few companies have
the the reach and the variety of who we serve
than Cardinal Health because we're you know, we're in 90%
(14:04):
of hospitals, thousands and thousands of pharmacies, laboratories, even more
than 3 million patients at their home that we support.
So we really span across the continuum in the ways
that we can help instill trust across that experience is
is key. And I want to I want to share
two two stats with you to frame this discussion as
(14:27):
part of the NRC Health 2022 Health Care Consumer Trends report.
They talk to 300,000 respondents. And what we saw was
that the care deferment of patients is down, meaning they're
returning to seek care. Right? So it declined 6%. Now
it's only at 27%. That means patients are going back
(14:51):
in for the care that they need. But because of deferment,
they may be going in with a more severe situation. Right.
The other stat I want to talk. Talk about is
the consumer record. So think about how if I'm going
to decide to work with a doctor or a hospital,
what's going into my decision and what am I remembering
about what that hospital told me about them, Right. Or
(15:13):
what that doctor told me about them. And that is
up 5% to 65%, which is really meaningful because if
your patients are remembering more and internalizing who you are
and what you do, that means the concept of trust
is more important than ever, right? That goes into their decisions.
(15:34):
So the idea of Cardinal health a role in helping
our customer, be it primarily health care providers, earned that
trust from their customers. Right. Their patients is key. And
a couple of examples I'll share specifically in ways that
we're advancing, especially with the next 12 months, ones in
(15:55):
the in the arena of our of our pharmaceutical segment.
And we do a lot with specialty pharmacy. So think
about oncology for an oncology practice. They're very much playing
in the world of value based care. So how do
you think about data that exists that can pull together
and you use AI and ways of scraping it together
(16:16):
that looks at the total cost of care? The doctor,
the procedure, right, the the reimbursement status of that, the
factors of the patient itself. We are working and we
have a solution that we that we provide to our
oncology practitioners that can allow them to assess the efficacy
and the cost tradeoff for what they are looking to do.
(16:39):
So that's the clinical that's definitely a more clinical example
of how we use data to support our customers. And
that allows them to not only just make sure the
business that they're running is viable and sustainable so they
can continue to care for patients, but it helps fuel
the discussion they can then have with that patient. It's data,
it's transparent, it builds that trust that they're seeking to do.
(17:02):
And then the other way, which naturally feeds into more
of the supply chain angle is when you look across
the global supply chain, we are very committed and have
made tremendous progress already on diversifying our supplier and manufacturer base.
You can imagine every time you look at a newspaper, right,
something is changing somewhere in the world that's going to
(17:25):
have an impact. And we have such a strong strategy
in place to make sure that where we are sourcing
raw materials, where we're sourcing finished goods, where we're building
our products, some in the U.S. itself, that we are
really making sure that that health care provider has the
best chance possible of not having a disruption that could
(17:45):
cause a negative customer experience and erode the trust that
they need to succeed.
S1 (17:50):
So, Emily, just sort of play this back a few
things that really stood out to me. Using data to
support providers and clinical outcome, but also to contribute to
creating a trusting relationship between patients and providers when really
the pandemic interrupted that relationship with a lot of kind
of postponing appointments or deferring non-urgent procedures, etc.. So all
(18:16):
of that has been really forthcoming, important accomplishments really coming
out of this. You also mentioned that Cardinal has been
making strides in diversifying its supply chain globally to make
it more secure going forward. When I hear all of this,
one thing that comes to mind is the importance of
having a resilient workforce and the kind of workforce that
(18:39):
can stand the test should a devastating crisis like this
happen again. And this leads to another question or another
topic that is near and dear to both of our hearts.
And I know you're very passionate about it, and that's
creating a diverse and inclusive workforce that can lead to innovation.
So can you share more about the importance of D
(19:01):
and AI to you and Cardinal and the role it
plays in the consumer health experience?
S2 (19:07):
I liked how you used concluded that question with leading
role because that is the responsibility I think, of companies
like Cardinal Health and other major organizations to drive change
and make it a standard, not a nice to have.
It's very I'm very passionate about it. I can speak
with you for a very long time on this topic,
(19:29):
but I am such a believer of what it means
to walk the walk and the business value of diversity,
equity and inclusion. You cannot support the diversity of our patients, right,
that are out there that need care consumers of health.
And if you do not have the representation, the commitment
(19:54):
and the ability to truly represent what that means within
your organization, it's. It just it's not going to happen.
So when you find an organization and I have I
believe with with Cardinal Health that is so committed to
this mission, it's something that not only attracts top talent,
but it keeps talent engaged and moving the business forward.
(20:17):
I know I stay a cardinal because of this. The
culture is is incredible. And what I mean by the
connection to the consumer is when a company commits publicly,
commits to having representation and supporting diverse perspectives, it allows
all of us to be who we are, bring 100%
(20:39):
of ourselves to work. And boy, that is more powerful
than you can ever imagine. I am co-chair of our
Proud Employee Resource Group, so it supports LGBTQ Plus and
our communities. And I felt so supported right away coming
in to Cardinal Health and being able to talk about
my family and and what it has meant on my journey.
(21:02):
But the minute that I knew I was safe and
even more so valued because I brought a different perspective,
I rolled up my sleeves and got to work right.
And as a leader, as a people leader, I've also
found that if you're in a company that creates and
delivers on this experience, everyone feels comfortable being who they are,
(21:24):
pushing the envelope, having candor, pressure, testing ideas so you
ultimately drive better outcomes for the diverse audience that you
are providing.
S1 (21:32):
That's just beautifully said, Emily. For DNA to work, it
has to be part of the fabric and the standard
of the workflows, the culture and the operations of the
organization and the company. And so I'm very inspired and
pleased to hear all the progress and great work that
you have done and Cardinal has done in helping us
(21:54):
kind of get closer to that nirvana, if you would. Listen,
this has been just fascinating. I feel like I can
ask many more questions and just continue on this conversation.
But all good things have to come to an end
before we leave. I know our audience would be very
interested to get in touch and connect with you, So
if you can tell us what are some of the
(22:16):
best ways to to find you, that would be very helpful.
S2 (22:20):
I would love if anyone has ideas or just wants
to reach out. You can find me on LinkedIn and
I'm off and sharing the great work that the Cardinal
is doing, especially in the world of of DNI. So
don't be shy and I'm look forward to hearing from you.
S1 (22:36):
And that's a wrap for us. I really enjoyed this conversation. Emily,
thank you for joining us. To all of our listeners,
thank you so much for your time. And I hope
that you took something new away from this conversation until
next time.
S3 (22:52):
Thanks for tuning in. If you like what you heard,
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(23:14):
you need and it's all for free. And remember, we
might have a lot of work to do in health care,
but we'll get there faster together. Thanks again.
Hi. Welcome to Paving the Path. I'm your host, Shiva Meter.
Say me. People know me as a customer experience champion
and a digital executive at Fortune 50 companies. I plan
on paving the path in my show with women game changers,
thought leaders and executives touching the entire spectrum of digital
transformation in health care. Join me in exploring the digital
(00:32):
renaissance that's shaping health care today and forever changing the
future of wellness, care and health. Hello, everyone. Thanks for
joining us for another episode of Paving the Path. Today,
our special guest is Emily Gallo. She is the senior
vice president and general manager for up to freight logistics
(00:56):
at Cardinal Health. You might be asking yourself, what we
talking about logistics today? Well, it turns out that leading
into the pandemic during and now coming out of it,
logistics and supply chain has played a significant role in
the global health care and patient outcomes. And I wanted
to bring a special guest in in Emily and her
(01:17):
work and Cardinal Health's focus on supply chain and logistics
in order to really shine light on some of the
great work initiatives and advancements in both people and technology
that are applied in the industry and how that's transforming
health care as we know it. Fun fact, Emily and
I actually went to business school together, so we know
(01:38):
each other from way back when. And it's amazing to
come full circle and sit together at this table to
discuss health care now and how her work is changing
and transforming patient outcome provider experience and much more. So
with that, I want to welcome Emily. It's a great,
(01:58):
great pleasure to have you here. Thank you so much
for joining us.
S2 (02:01):
Sure. Thanks for having me. I'm honored to be invited.
I've listened to your prior podcast and what a group
of talented executives improving the lives of patients. So I'm
really excited. I enjoy chatting with you anyway, and to
do so in this forum is is really meaningful.
S1 (02:16):
So, Emily, tell us how you got here. What got
you interested in health care and what's important to you.
S2 (02:23):
If you've ever faced a fork in the road? That
is what got me into into health care. Graduating from college,
I was either going to move to Colorado, coach high
school soccer and teach physics, or move to Boston and
try my hand at consulting, and I ended up choosing
the latter. I'm happy with that decision, though. I always
(02:43):
wonder where that other path would have led. But I
really happened to fall into health care. The consulting firm
focused on the diagnostic space, and I knew right away
that I wanted to be in healthcare for the rest
of my career. And what got me excited about it
was not only was it interesting to learn about products
(03:03):
and technology and the development of new therapeutics, but you
got to learn about disease states and the impact that
had on patients and their families, and that was that
combination was really powerful. I didn't know how in health
care I would serve over the years, but I knew
it would always be a staple. And I had the
chance to experience both the U.S. health system and abroad.
(03:27):
The last year I was with my consulting firm. I
relocated to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to lead up their Latin
America practice. And it was so interesting to see just
how different health care is delivered and experienced in different countries.
You mentioned other roles, other companies that I've been with,
Merck and Sales and global marketing abit more on the
(03:48):
consumer health side and now joined Cardinal about eight years
ago came in more of an engagement strategist for executives
that I led a number of our medical product businesses
think about exam gloves and and surgical gloves and ways
that we help protect health care providers and then most
recently moved into the role of senior vice president, general
(04:11):
manager for a company called Active Freight Logistics, which is
part of of Cardinal Health. So I really enjoyed the
variety of what it means to impact health care and
working with smart and talented people along the way.
S1 (04:23):
That's fascinating, Emily. And I think just hearing you talk
about your career shows how complex and multifaceted the health
care industry is and how much it has grown and
become even more complex over the years. So talking about complexity.
Can you give us a layperson's explanation of what Cardinal
(04:44):
Health does your role and how it's different?
S2 (04:48):
Cardinal Health is a Fortune 15 organization with more than
44,000 employees globally, and we play a big role in
connecting the continuum of care with. You do it by
linking the clinical and the operational side of health care.
And we are a major pharmaceutical distributor or a global
manufacturer and distributor of med products. And we also provide
(05:11):
performance and data solutions for health care providers and their
institutions of different logistics really plays in that third category.
And the way I describe OPPT, afraid to my friends,
my family, right. Think about a hospital or a laboratory
or a pharmacy and all the packages that go in
(05:32):
and out of that institution on a daily basis. A
lot of those packages go through what we would consider
prime distribution, which is the bread and butter of the
larger cardinal health. But more than half of those packages
go outside of that of that track. And that's where
Opti Freight comes in. We help our health system, health
care provider customers have visibility into what is coming in
(05:56):
and what are they sending. And it may sound operational,
but it really cuts to the chase of are they
able to provide the patient care that they want? Do
they have the products as they need? And especially in
this environment where they're looking for value and savings under
every rock. How do they get smarter? How do they
use data to make better decisions on what to send,
(06:19):
where to send it, and how to have that control?
So that's what it's all about.
S1 (06:22):
That's fascinating. So let's dive a little bit deeper. I
think it's fair to say, and I'm sure you agree,
that most consumers don't quite understand the complexity of the
current health care system, nor should they care. They want
care when they needed it the most accessible and personal
way possible. They want a better experience. So how is
(06:44):
the team of cardinal holes in your role considering supply chain?
And what we experience throughout the pandemic is contributing to
the future of a more consumer centric health care model?
S2 (06:56):
It's a great question. It's something I think all of
us in the ecosystem of health care are embracing right
this and driving towards this consumer led approach. And it's
interesting because you think about supply chain, and I bet
if you grabbed any passerby on the street before the
pandemic and asked them, do you know what an isolation
(07:20):
gown is or what style facemask do you most prefer?
They would have looked at you like you had three heads, right?
But the aspect of the pandemic, the constraints that you're
talking about on supplies and the direct impact that it
had on consumers, on patients, it actually brought up supply
(07:40):
chain and the concept of it into the forefront. And
we have people, whether it's your couch that you ordered,
you know, 18 months ago, that still hasn't arrived or
it's having to skid to cancel surgeries. Right. If you
if you're not able to get the products that you need.
These are real instances of impacting the consumer experience. Cardinal
(08:02):
Health is on the forefront of looking for ways to
apply the learnings that we had through the pandemic. Invest
in technology. This podcast is all about digital health. What
have we learned and how do we apply that so
that we are constantly scraping, learning, looking at scenario planning,
(08:22):
looking at end to end visibility that can help us
see what's around the corner and importantly from a resiliency standpoint,
have alternatives ready to go to make sure that that
consumer experience is not disrupted in that way. But it
goes beyond that, right? It goes to the point of
when Cardinal is working in a silo. That's one thing.
(08:47):
If Cardinal is working in collaboration with our health care providers,
with other stakeholders in the industry. I think that is
one of the biggest silver linings that came out of
the pandemic is we all came to the table and
with the customer at the center had to think about
what do we do now and what's in our power
(09:07):
to the best of our ability to make sure this
doesn't happen again.
S1 (09:10):
I love that. You know, the old saying never let
a crisis go wasted is is kind of the situation
we find ourselves with the COVID pandemic. And what you
are describing and what it brought out of the system
is very revealing and inspiring. At the same time, despite
all the pain that we had to go through. So
(09:32):
let's unpack a little bit here. What are some of
the areas of progress in health care that tend not
to get the spotlight but are incredibly important.
S2 (09:42):
To continue on The theme, actually, of our our last question.
What comes to mind is the ability to to collaborate.
You can have the shiniest technology that's out there, but
if you don't have the right people around the table
working towards the. Common goal than nothing will progress at
the pace that you need it to. So one of
(10:04):
those areas that it doesn't get the headlines, it's not
a front page article, but one of the biggest ways
that I think we've changed for the good is the
common alignment of what needs to be done and the
openness to share more information, to think creatively together and
co-create where we can go. And I'll give you a
(10:25):
real example. I actually recently attended industry organization that by
design has select numbers of health care provider supply chain
leaders as well as industry supply chain leaders. So think
about Cardinal Health being one and the entire purpose of
that engagement over three days, right where we're sitting in
(10:47):
rooms together or not selling to one another. We're not
talking about the transaction nature that you just brought up, right?
We are focused on those meaty and macro challenges that persist.
The concept of how do you have a resilient and
agile supply chain? The idea of with the great resignation
(11:09):
that's taking place. How do we think about labor and
what does it mean to build a deeper pool of talent?
What are best practices of making sure diversity is part
of the equation on your on your talent strategy? All
of these things, we can work together to be stronger.
And the outcome of that was actually a blueprint of
(11:29):
a supply chain resiliency model that was co-created by both, again,
the hospitals and major health systems that are out there
in the industry, supporters of them to acknowledge where we
fell down and what are we investing in to get
after it. We have invested, particularly with Cardinal Health, in
(11:51):
what we would call more of a advanced planning system.
This is a platform that takes input from going back
to raw materials through to where are they manufactured through
to what is the pathway or routes, right, that would
move it from one continent to the next. And how
are we ultimately matching that up with demand signals that
(12:13):
we are seeing from our customers and through that investment
and importantly, through that openness and collaboration? We now have
more data than ever that matched the supply and demand signals.
And for a supply chain to be resilient, that has
to be at the core.
S1 (12:28):
I love that term, you know, making supply chain as
resilient as possible and in doing so, bringing that customer
experience and customer driven customer centricity to play, to really
engage all the constituents and players along the way from
the first kind of mile to the last mile. And,
you know, it's funny, the example that comes to my
(12:49):
mind is ordering pizza and kind of like seeing from
the first moment you put the order in all the
way to the delivery moment, how it comes to life.
And it's been set to be one of the most
engaging experiences, and it has helped quite significantly with all
sorts of economic metrics, but also more importantly from a
customer experience. And so that's a simple example. But certainly
(13:13):
doing something like that at a global scale with supply chain,
with millions of variables is monumental and very, very difficult.
But seems like we are getting there, which is very promising.
S2 (13:25):
That's a great recap of what we're striving to do,
and it does come down to the experience of the
customer in the sense being health care providers. But ultimately,
what is their ability to provide care to their patients?
S1 (13:37):
Emily Let's talk about the future, the near future. Where
is Cardinal Health headed in the next 6 to 12 months?
S2 (13:43):
You talk a lot about the consumer, right? The customer
centric nature of our our systems, and that's the guidepost
that we use on how we we need to advance.
And it's it's been cool because so few companies have
the the reach and the variety of who we serve
than Cardinal Health because we're you know, we're in 90%
(14:04):
of hospitals, thousands and thousands of pharmacies, laboratories, even more
than 3 million patients at their home that we support.
So we really span across the continuum in the ways
that we can help instill trust across that experience is
is key. And I want to I want to share
two two stats with you to frame this discussion as
(14:27):
part of the NRC Health 2022 Health Care Consumer Trends report.
They talk to 300,000 respondents. And what we saw was
that the care deferment of patients is down, meaning they're
returning to seek care. Right? So it declined 6%. Now
it's only at 27%. That means patients are going back
(14:51):
in for the care that they need. But because of deferment,
they may be going in with a more severe situation. Right.
The other stat I want to talk. Talk about is
the consumer record. So think about how if I'm going
to decide to work with a doctor or a hospital,
what's going into my decision and what am I remembering
about what that hospital told me about them, Right. Or
(15:13):
what that doctor told me about them. And that is
up 5% to 65%, which is really meaningful because if
your patients are remembering more and internalizing who you are
and what you do, that means the concept of trust
is more important than ever, right? That goes into their decisions.
(15:34):
So the idea of Cardinal health a role in helping
our customer, be it primarily health care providers, earned that
trust from their customers. Right. Their patients is key. And
a couple of examples I'll share specifically in ways that
we're advancing, especially with the next 12 months, ones in
(15:55):
the in the arena of our of our pharmaceutical segment.
And we do a lot with specialty pharmacy. So think
about oncology for an oncology practice. They're very much playing
in the world of value based care. So how do
you think about data that exists that can pull together
and you use AI and ways of scraping it together
(16:16):
that looks at the total cost of care? The doctor,
the procedure, right, the the reimbursement status of that, the
factors of the patient itself. We are working and we
have a solution that we that we provide to our
oncology practitioners that can allow them to assess the efficacy
and the cost tradeoff for what they are looking to do.
(16:39):
So that's the clinical that's definitely a more clinical example
of how we use data to support our customers. And
that allows them to not only just make sure the
business that they're running is viable and sustainable so they
can continue to care for patients, but it helps fuel
the discussion they can then have with that patient. It's data,
it's transparent, it builds that trust that they're seeking to do.
(17:02):
And then the other way, which naturally feeds into more
of the supply chain angle is when you look across
the global supply chain, we are very committed and have
made tremendous progress already on diversifying our supplier and manufacturer base.
You can imagine every time you look at a newspaper, right,
something is changing somewhere in the world that's going to
(17:25):
have an impact. And we have such a strong strategy
in place to make sure that where we are sourcing
raw materials, where we're sourcing finished goods, where we're building
our products, some in the U.S. itself, that we are
really making sure that that health care provider has the
best chance possible of not having a disruption that could
(17:45):
cause a negative customer experience and erode the trust that
they need to succeed.
S1 (17:50):
So, Emily, just sort of play this back a few
things that really stood out to me. Using data to
support providers and clinical outcome, but also to contribute to
creating a trusting relationship between patients and providers when really
the pandemic interrupted that relationship with a lot of kind
of postponing appointments or deferring non-urgent procedures, etc.. So all
(18:16):
of that has been really forthcoming, important accomplishments really coming
out of this. You also mentioned that Cardinal has been
making strides in diversifying its supply chain globally to make
it more secure going forward. When I hear all of this,
one thing that comes to mind is the importance of
having a resilient workforce and the kind of workforce that
(18:39):
can stand the test should a devastating crisis like this
happen again. And this leads to another question or another
topic that is near and dear to both of our hearts.
And I know you're very passionate about it, and that's
creating a diverse and inclusive workforce that can lead to innovation.
So can you share more about the importance of D
(19:01):
and AI to you and Cardinal and the role it
plays in the consumer health experience?
S2 (19:07):
I liked how you used concluded that question with leading
role because that is the responsibility I think, of companies
like Cardinal Health and other major organizations to drive change
and make it a standard, not a nice to have.
It's very I'm very passionate about it. I can speak
with you for a very long time on this topic,
(19:29):
but I am such a believer of what it means
to walk the walk and the business value of diversity,
equity and inclusion. You cannot support the diversity of our patients, right,
that are out there that need care consumers of health.
And if you do not have the representation, the commitment
(19:54):
and the ability to truly represent what that means within
your organization, it's. It just it's not going to happen.
So when you find an organization and I have I
believe with with Cardinal Health that is so committed to
this mission, it's something that not only attracts top talent,
but it keeps talent engaged and moving the business forward.
(20:17):
I know I stay a cardinal because of this. The
culture is is incredible. And what I mean by the
connection to the consumer is when a company commits publicly,
commits to having representation and supporting diverse perspectives, it allows
all of us to be who we are, bring 100%
(20:39):
of ourselves to work. And boy, that is more powerful
than you can ever imagine. I am co-chair of our
Proud Employee Resource Group, so it supports LGBTQ Plus and
our communities. And I felt so supported right away coming
in to Cardinal Health and being able to talk about
my family and and what it has meant on my journey.
(21:02):
But the minute that I knew I was safe and
even more so valued because I brought a different perspective,
I rolled up my sleeves and got to work right.
And as a leader, as a people leader, I've also
found that if you're in a company that creates and
delivers on this experience, everyone feels comfortable being who they are,
(21:24):
pushing the envelope, having candor, pressure, testing ideas so you
ultimately drive better outcomes for the diverse audience that you
are providing.
S1 (21:32):
That's just beautifully said, Emily. For DNA to work, it
has to be part of the fabric and the standard
of the workflows, the culture and the operations of the
organization and the company. And so I'm very inspired and
pleased to hear all the progress and great work that
you have done and Cardinal has done in helping us
(21:54):
kind of get closer to that nirvana, if you would. Listen,
this has been just fascinating. I feel like I can
ask many more questions and just continue on this conversation.
But all good things have to come to an end
before we leave. I know our audience would be very
interested to get in touch and connect with you, So
if you can tell us what are some of the
(22:16):
best ways to to find you, that would be very helpful.
S2 (22:20):
I would love if anyone has ideas or just wants
to reach out. You can find me on LinkedIn and
I'm off and sharing the great work that the Cardinal
is doing, especially in the world of of DNI. So
don't be shy and I'm look forward to hearing from you.
S1 (22:36):
And that's a wrap for us. I really enjoyed this conversation. Emily,
thank you for joining us. To all of our listeners,
thank you so much for your time. And I hope
that you took something new away from this conversation until
next time.
S3 (22:52):
Thanks for tuning in. If you like what you heard,
please spread the word. Tell your colleagues to tune in
for all the awesomeness, then leave a review on Apple, Spotify,
or wherever you listen. This show is produced by Shift
Forward Health. The channel for Change Makers Subscribe to Shift
Forward Health on your favorite podcast app and you'll be
subscribed to our entire library of shows. See our full
lineup at Shift Forward Health.com one subscription, All the podcasts
(23:14):
you need and it's all for free. And remember, we
might have a lot of work to do in health care,
but we'll get there faster together. Thanks again.
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