Accessibility of affordable quality healthcare is a huge concern around the world. Quality Healthcare is out of reach of so many due to cost and many others due to geography or circumstance. To restructure and bridge the distance between supply and demand, world leaders are innovating options to enhance accessibility in all fields and particularly in the medical sector.
One such leader is CEO-Digital Health – Brandon Rowberry of Aster DM Healthcare, who, with his mission to bring healthcare to the palm of the patient’s hands, is revolutionizing the gifts of medical sciences accompanied by technological platforms to enable beneficiaries to access quality healthcare cost-effectively.
His leadership approach is simple, yet powerful. Brandon says, “I learn as much from our great employees as I hope they do from me. What I try to do is to teach and model good principles and enable my people to largely manage/lead themselves.” The company is now one of the largest Healthcare providers in the Middle East and India, serving ~25M patients/customers and encompassing nearly all aspects of Modern Healthcare, including Hospitals, Clinics, Pharmacies, and Digital Health.
To know more, let us slide into the interview details below!
Brandon, kindly brief us about yourself and your journey so far.
The journey has been a wide and varied one, spanning various industries, geographies, and focus areas. The one thing that has tied it all together has been a theme of driving growth through ambiguity. I have been richly blessed with a wonderful family, generous colleagues, and opportunities to learn beyond what I could have imagined decades ago.
I have had the opportunity to start businesses from scratch, lead large functional areas such as Global Innovation for major Fortune 500 corporations, and invest in and advise both start-ups and multi-billion-dollar growth companies. All of this is with a focus on increasing the accessibility and scalability of products/services.
I am very grateful to be leading Digital Health and tremendous growth at Aster.
The Mission of the company focuses on the Accessibility and Affordability of the quality healthcare services and products we offer across many countries.
This focus aligns with my personal mission.
Please tell us about Aster DM Healthcare and the inspiration behind it.
Aster DM Healthcare was founded by Dr. Azad Moopen in the late 80s as a single healthcare clinic location in Dubai serving the underserved population.
The inspiration was simple, people do not have access to affordable quality healthcare, and Dr. Moopen stepped in to fill the huge gap. From these humble beginnings, it has grown to one of the largest Healthcare providers in the Middle East and India, serving ~25M patients/customers encompassing nearly all aspects of Modern Healthcare, including Hospitals, Clinics, Pharmacies, and Digital Health.
What are the key products and services of your organization, and how has it opened both physical and digital doors to patients?
Aster serves the entire spectrum of healthcare needs, from complex surgeries and Transplants to cancer care to basic primary care and everything in between. Aster also has a huge network of Pharmacies providing Prescription and non-prescription medicines and products to help people live healthier lives.
Digital Health is leading the way by connecting Patients to the full spectrum of health services/products in and out of the traditional healthcare setting. It has expanded the access and affordability of healthcare for millions of patients and customers.
Being able to get care from nearly anywhere and anytime via digital tools allows families to better care for their needs.
How is Aster DM healthcare incorporating novel technological solutions in its operations to deliver improved patient-centric services?
We have been hard at work incorporating Digital Health solutions by connecting the only full-range healthcare services/products company in the region with the ability for patients to have their health records “in the palm of their hand.”
Patients/customers now have the power to have real-time control and access to a 360-degree view of their family’s health.
How is your organization enabling more comprehensive access to healthcare for patients in the operative region(s)?
Aster has the highest density of Hospitals, clinics, and Pharmacies of any healthcare provider in the region. We have a particular focus and density in areas that are typically underserved and less well-off than other areas.
Our mission is focused on the Accessibility and Affordability of Quality Healthcare, and thus our operations match that aim. Digital Health widens that access multi-fold by not having to be tied to physical locations.
Now your health is in the palm of your hand regardless of your geography or financial situation.
How have you infused your business and investment acumen into Aster DM healthcare to continue its growth chart upwards? As a CEO – of Digital Health, how do you ensure this growth is not just in volume but in values as well?
I learn as much from our great employees as I hope they do from me. What I try to do is to teach and model good principles and enable my people to largely manage/lead themselves. For the most part, after providing guidance, goals, and resources, I try to get out of the way and, when needed, remove roadblocks. I believe this leadership style will create sustainable capability in our organization and people and, thus, lead to great performance in the medium and long term.
My leadership team includes people from 5 different continents. That was certainly not the intended aim, however, it shows that talent comes truly from everywhere and is attracted to opportunities that help them fulfill their personal missions and responsibilities.
Our longer-term growth needs to be infused into all talent, and therefore, I spend a considerable amount of my time working directly with people one on one and in small groups, ensuring they know that I understand, care, and support their great work. This, along with ensuring they have whole areas of “ownership”, helps us create a virtuous cycle of high-achieving talent dedicated to our goals.
As a successful leader and a guiding light, what is your advice to budding entrepreneurs in creating trustable digital solutions to enable wider access and affordability while availing healthcare services?
Solve a need you know and experiment, experiment, experiment! I have never seen a business plan that fully stood the test of time so the flexibility to read, react and make changes is much more valuable than a perfectly polished plan. Get your solution into the hands of anyone who will use it and build from their experiences.
In healthcare, too much innovation is focused on solutions that drive prices higher and higher instead of more accessibility and affordability. Please focus your efforts on those solutions that will scale and help us to enable the next 10 million people, then the next.
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