Healthcare as a Business Prof. Gilbert Kokwaro, FAAS IHC, Strathmore Business School

Healthcare as a BusinessProf. Gilbert Kokwaro, FAAS

IHC, Strathmore Business School

Presentation Outline

• Components of a Health System• Something about Eastern Africa• Access to quality healthcare:-barriers and

opportunities• What doctors need to succeed in business• What Strathmore offers

Opportunities in Eastern Africa

• There are approximately 200 million people in East Africa

• 90% of these people don’t have access to basic quality healthcare

• This is a huge market for healthcare business

Access to quality healthcare: barriers and opportunities

• Barriers to having access to healthcare

• Barriers to gaining access to healthcare

• Who pays for healthcare in Kenya?

“Having” versus “Gaining” Access to health services

• Having access means the potential to utilise a service if required

• Gaining access means initiation into the process of utilizing a service

Key barriers to access

• Lack of “having” access: Tyranny of distance is the key issue

• Lack of “gaining” access: a)Financial barriers, b) Personal (cultural)-e.g, lack of knowledge , c) System barriers (availability of drugs; health worker attitudes; Quality, overworked health workers; absent health workers)

Map of Mfangano Island

LAMU ARCHIPELAGO

What doctors need to do to succeed in business

• Set quality benchmarks• Align competency to quality• Get training in Leadership and

Management• Plan the business• Start the business• Refine the business

QualityA quality product or service is one that meets or

exceeds clients’ expectations.Expectations can change, so quality must be

continuouslyimproved.

Quality HealthcareQuality of care is the degree to which health

services for individuals and populationsincrease the likelihood of desired health

outcomes and are consistent with currentprofessional knowledge.

Business model based on quality of service

• Establish demand for service• Benchmark quality of service• Establish cost of provision of quality

service• Establish sustainable client base to pay

“full cost”• Expand “base of pyramid” by offering

same quality at affordable cost

The Business Management Triangle

Quality of the work done

Time available

Q

T V Volume of Workdone

£ Costs &Benefits

You must make the trade-off decision visible to everyone

• “Lack of management skills appears to be the single most important barrier to improving health throughout the world”

• In many counties in Kenya, the skill sets are highly technical as opposed to managerial, financial, strategic or leadership-oriented

Management skills

• “ Management is the art of getting things done through people”

• “Leadership creates systems that managers manage, while Management is what makes systems work well on a daily basis”

Management skills

Risk - A Working Definition

Risk = The possibility of an event occurring that could prevent the business achieving its success criteria

Upside Risks Downside Risks

Risk Levels and Accountabilities

Level 4

Level 3

Level 1

Level 2

Organisation Risks

Functional Team Members

Project Leader & Project Champion

Portfolio Directors

Organisation Leaders

Portfolio Risks

Project Risks

Functional Risks

What you can get at Strathmore

• Leadership and Management training• Managing Healthcare Businesses• Health Board Training• On/off site mentorship• Linkage to potential health financing

opportunities• CPD accreditation

THANK YOU