Managing information
health care
'Information only becomes knowledge when it's made valuable to those who
receive it,' remarks Shawn Leiand of business management health care. Indeed,
the transformation of information into knowledge, and hence the delivery of
greater value to our customers, inspired several recent developments within
health care including the recent introduction of the electronic site RaboCare as
well as the latest organizational initiative which will see Arnold Kuijpers, global
business manager of health care, joined by two dedicated advisors.
Changing relativities
Ambitious undertakings
Leveraging influence
12. What sNewS Issue5*May 1999
Shawn Leiand assumes
the new role of advisor
health care industries with
degrees in microbiology
and chemistry as well as an
MBA. She came to
Rabobank in 1997 with
extensive industrial
experience. Her colleague
Michel van Schaik joined
as advisor health care
services in May. With a
master's degree in public
health, he was previously a
dentist and worked in the
health insurance sector
before joining RI as a
senior relationship manager in 1997. The
division of lahour between industries and
services is a strategically significant one
and the reasoning behind appointing two
sta ff niembers. 'Considering the very
different nature of the industrial and
services sectors at present, it seemed
unwise to try and combine in-depth
expertise and knowledge in one and the
same person,' says Kuijpers. 'Each sector
is big enough in its own right to require a
full-time professional. We also need to
manage our RaboCare helpdesk, as well
as manage the flow of tailored research in
various market subsegments so that it
supports product specialists and
relationship managers throughout the
network. This is crucial. Everybody
should be working from the same
knowledge base, whether it's internally
generated information or material from
the outside, and we have to ntake sure
that the right information reaches the
right people in good time.'
The industrial and services subsectors of
health care are distinguished in funda-
mental ways. The services sector remains
fragmented along national lines. The
Shawn Leiand joins health care
shape and relationship
between acute care
providers, nursing homes,
hospitals, managed care
organi-zations,
specialized care providers
and public sector entities
is different wherever you
look. Concurrently,
regulations and
prevailing circum-stances
are changing fast. Says
Van Schaik, 'there is a
gradual process towards
regulatory convergence
underway worldwide,
and this will have
important strategie and business
consequences. There is also an upsurge in
public/private sector health care
initiatives, which creates its own
new opportunities as well. What's
more, the main lines of development
in certain countries, like the US or
the UK, will have important
repercussions in other markets as
well.' Understanding the changing
relativities of the service side of the
health care market and capturing
related opportunities, will be a
major undertaking that makes full
use of Van Schaik's skills.
these firms. Translating these contacts
into real business opportunities poses a
major challenge for everyone in our
health care network.'
This is another reason why Leiand and
Van Schaik have been appointed: they will
not only be responsible for managing
research activities in their respective
sectors, but also overseeing its distribution
throughout the Rabobank International
network using RaboCare, which is
evolving as our primary context for
reference and information exchange
within health care, and other channels as
well. Moreover, standing as they do at a
crossroads of data, it will also be their
task to help synthesize the main lines of
strategie business and technical develop
ment, both globally and locally, as well as
to identify potential business opportunities
for other specialists in the bank. 'Clearly,
this isn't something that two or three
people in Utrecht can do alone,' van
Schaik remarks. 'We see ourselves prima-
rily as networkers, and we will rely
decisively on input and regular dialogue,
both formal and inforntal, with our
colleagues throughout the world.' 'We see
a lot of important trends taking shape
Meanwhile, industries like medical
devices and supplies also remain highly
differentiated, while pharmaceuticals,
biotech, and life sciences, in contrast, are
consolidating on a global scale. Says
Leiand, 'this means that, in order to
make a success of our efforts, we will
need to leverage our international
network to provide global solutions to
these ever larger companies. As we move
into a progressively more advisory role,
we will seek to establish contacts at the
highest levels of management within
Michel van Schaik adds expertise
internationally, some driven by technology
and others by regulation,' Leiand con-
cludes. 'Either way, we're still a relatively
new entrant in this market and we have a
lot of interna 1 development work that
needs to get done before we're fully up to
speed. But the upside is that we're also
coming in on the ground floor at an
exciting time of change. There are
trentendous opportunities if we can
manage our internal networking in a
creative way.'
