STARTING POINT

A large corporate health services business was seeking a new route to market in the NHS with primary care products and services from the US, which had been built up over many years, and proven transformative.

THE CHALLENGES

Adapting US models for the NHS marketplace is complex and costly. The incentives and commercial drivers are very different, and with no clear route to market or evidence of impact in the UK, the product team needed real-world customer insights to inform the value proposition and development roadmap.

TAKING ACTION

Leveraging existing relationships, and also targeting other carefully selected innovative providers, we developed new partnerships to test assumptions on the market potential. We establish proof-of-concept projects to evidence the impact of a range of clinical and back-office interventions, and crucially invested time and energy upfront to align with the culture and values of our partners.

Through these projects we validated the value hypothesis, and also surfaced the practical, technical and human barriers to uptake. Working in collaboration with clinical, operational, legal and financial experts, these partnerships helped to inform pivots in product development and commercial models. It became clear that at this point in time, the GP landscape was not ready for a mass-market service, and implementation costs would prove prohibitive. Despite indications of potential return-on-investment, the change effort required was a high risk to success.

IMPACT

The corporate business was able to make a fully-informed decision about product development and investment, based on real-world insights and the customer voice.

Bold visions and large investments come with risks - and it’s not contracts, but the relationships, underpinned by shared values, that are critical to navigating through uncertainty. Getting to the bottom of a business case means asking the difficult questions, and leading with the courage to challenge assumptions.

This takes integrity, compassion, trust and positive intent on all sides.

"I highly recommend Ben Hulme. He is committed, compassionate and relationship focused. He does what is necessary to exceed the expectations of his customers. Ben is a values based leader who will help you achieve success."

David Orbuch, Executive Vice President - Managing Director, Optum UK