Experiential learning is at the heart of business education at UNC Kenan-Flagler. Throughout their studies in the Executive MBA program, physicians Martyn Knowles and Ben Wood (both MBA ’18) enjoyed a unique opportunity: launching a company that applies business principles to their profession of healthcare.

With the imminent transition to value-based care, the development of innovative solutions that reduce cost while preserving or improving quality of care will be essential. Technological advances in healthcare that improve efficiency and reduce expenses will prove beneficial to hospital systems and patients.

The new wave of technology in healthcare will vastly improve upon current EHR systems. A paradigm shift will occur when tech innovation is implemented to reduce waste through lean methodologies that focus on value-added activities. This is true throughout the entire healthcare industry and the opportunity within surgical services is among those with the greatest potential impact.

"As this digital transformation has taken place, we see the opportunity of care coming back to the hands of physicians. Workplace technology transformation doesn't just improve clinicians' satisfaction, but it supports the organization's overall shift to value-based care models with superior data collection.”

This study at UCSF found that 13% of the total surgical cost was spent on unused or wasted supplies. Providing an interactive platform to surgeons for preference card management, equipped with pricing insights, will lead to surgical cost savings by enabling best value supply selection, a reduction in disposable waste, and less cost variation between surgeons.

Dr. Nichol provides compelling evidence around one of the greatest potential cost-savings opportunities in healthcare.