As life sciences companies continue down the path of digital transformation, they are rethinking how quality teams can impact future success. Quality executives Steve C de Baca, chief patient safety and quality officer at Philips, and Nidia Acevedo, senior vice president of global quality compliance at Eli Lilly, recently sat on a panel at Veeva MedTech Summit to discuss this evolution and how the role of quality must change and expand to meet the new challenges of this digital era.
Acevedo pointed out that her global pharmaceutical company has maintained the same foundational values since its beginning – integrity, excellence, and respect for people. But it takes focus and determination to keep those values in a world where technology and customer expectations are rapidly changing.
“It’s no different in the medtech industry,” C de Baca added. As we prepared for this discussion,” he noted, “we found more similarities than differences.” He’s seen medtech companies get into trouble when they lose sight of their fundamentals or take them for granted.
Technology must enable the pursuit of our key values, said Acevedo, not distract from it. C de Baca agreed, noting that we all have a tendency to become “enamored with systems and tools – and they do make our jobs much better,” but technology can pull our focus away from the fundamentals that brought our organizations success in the first place. Both execs highlighted patient centricity as the “true north” towards which the entire organization needs to be oriented, not just the quality group.
The second fundamental C de Baca called out is that the central role in the development of any organization is played by the team – it’s teams that ultimately accomplish goals, leveraging technology, not technology alone. Leaders need to be working to evolve and grow the teams they lead, not necessarily in headcount, but upleveling their skills and ability to collaborate. “That’s the greatest evolution we have ever had,” he emphasized.
Additionally, too often technology, market pressures, and regulatory demands lead people to abandon the third fundamental, common sense and critical thinking. “Yes, we have to evolve – new technologies, new information, new ways of thinking. But always rest on the solid foundation of 1) patient first, 2) team will get you there, 3) critical thinking and common sense,” added C de Baca.
The panelists reflected on practical ways they’ve worked to apply these fundamentals in their respective organizations, using technology to enhance, rather than eclipse, their efforts to evolve.
Two application principles are critical, Acevedo said, as senior leaders seek to foster these values within their organizations. The first is clear and consistent communication, which is essential so all teams have a common understanding of the why. “We cannot assume that this is obvious to everybody,” she emphasized.
The second critical principle is human connection and knowing that your evolving quality programs will have their own heartbeat. If you can do this well, employees across the organization will be engaged and better understand how their roles impact the development and production of high quality products.
Acevedo highlighted an initiative that fosters both of these elements at Lilly called Innovation Labs. This program brings site workers together with corporate team members to learn about the role each group plays in delivering trusted medicines to patients. “Even the board of directors sits with the site operators – mechanics and QC inspectors – to listen with intent and deepen human connection.” This helps strengthen and maintain everyone’s link to the company values and the role they play in fulfilling the company’s mission.
C de Baca reinforced the importance of human connection. “You have to personalize it,” he said, referring to the link between each role at the company and patient safety. For example, a recent program at Philips called Patient Safety and Quality Time Out brought together seventy thousand people across all regions, all functions, and all businesses to reflect on the connection between their jobs and the patient experience.
C de Baca referenced many forces driving quality professionals to make changes within their organizations, encouraging the audience to be active rather than passive. “Unfortunately, people have the tendency to take a victimhood approach to change,” he warned. “’I’ll wait for something to happen’ – a new regulation, a new technology, a new crisis. Don’t be a victim of evolution. Go evolve into what you want to be.”
Acevedo added that, as a leader, you need to be working on your own development if you’re going to be effective in driving the evolution of your quality organization. For instance, she’s taking courses on artificial intelligence so she can work with her team on developing AI tools to serve their mission. “We need to be very deliberate about upskilling ourselves,” she said.
“The greatest evolution is within yourself,” agreed C de Baca, and sharing those experiences with your teammates and industry colleagues is critical. “Everybody carries a piece of the puzzle. When you put all those pieces together, you create the full picture.”
To hear more about keeping pace with the evolutions of quality, access the full replay of this Veeva MedTech Summit session on Veeva Connect.