Good morning.
Discussions about technology in health care can induce both euphoria (Let’s live forever!) and terror (Change Healthcare’s ransomware attack is still playing out). The transformative power of AI, biotechnology and robotics in medical research is truly exciting. But software that puts powerful information in the hands of health care workers arguably has the greatest potential for transforming lives right now.
This week, I met with several leaders who are on the front lines. Stryker CEO Kevin Lobo talked about how the medical device company’s big bets on software have spurred a focus on transforming workflows well beyond the operating theater. “It’s not a space I would have thought Stryker would have been in five years ago,” said Lobo. “But we just try to solve problems for our customers and we’re going to keep growing there.”
Wolters Kluwer CEO Nancy McKinstry, whose company provides digital health care data, told me that “the players that are going to succeed are the people who have a strong base of customers, along with unique and proprietary data or content.” Most important, of course, is helping them solve tough real-world problems.
For a global view of what health care leaders are experiencing, check out the latest Future Health Index, released this week. It’s a global survey of health care leaders in 14 countries, conducted by Royal Philips, that focuses on the challenges and how they’re addressing them.
The biggest priority for this group is their people: 92% of health care leaders reported seeing a deterioration in their staff’s wellbeing, morale and mental health while 81% reported delays in care because of staff shortages. It’s no surprise, then, that 88% believe technology to automate repetitive tasks is critical for addressing staff shortages, and 82% said virtual care had a positive impact on easing staff shortages at their organizations. The areas where AI is already being used include radiology (27%), in-patient monitoring (23%), preventive care (16%) and remote patient monitoring (16%).
What brought these issues to life for me was a dinner Fortune held with hospital-systems leaders, sponsored by Philips, earlier this week. Along with sharing exciting innovations that are transforming how they deliver service, they talked about the frustration of multiple pilot programs that need to be scaled and insurers whose payment models don’t keep up with innovation, even when there’s demonstrable cost savings in implementing new solutions.
As Jeff DiLullo, chief region leader for Philips North America, said during our discussion: “The technology to address these challenges exists. It takes leadership to decide where to start to make an impact.”
Diane Brady
diane.brady@fortune.com
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TOP NEWS
Living will rejection
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has rejected Citigroup’s “living will,” a detailed plan that determines how the Wall Street giant will wind down operations if it fails. The FDIC is particularly concerned about Citi’s data controls, which it deemed “deficient.” Regulators have previously flagged concerns about the bank’s ability to provide timely data during periods of financial stress. Financial Times
A new AI model
Anthropic, the AI startup founded by ex-researchers from OpenAI, has just released a new version of its Claude model, titled “Claude 3.5 Sonnet.” The startup claims the new model outperforms OpenAI’s GPT-4o, released just a month ago. The speed of new releases shows how tough it is for AI startups to stay on the leading edge: “The pace of progress is incredibly fast,” Anthropic president Daniela Amodei says. Fortune
Islamic banking
Banks in the Muslim world are developing financial products that don’t rely on interest payments, barred under some interpretations of Islamic law. For example: rather than offer a mortgage to a prospective homeowner, an Islamic bank might buy the house outright and offer customers a rent-to-own model. Shariah-compliant finance now contributes over 25% of pretax profits for Maybank, No. 17 on Fortune’s inaugural Southeast Asia 500 list. Fortune
AROUND THE WATERCOOLER
Microsoft and Nvidia are now the world’s most valuable companies. How Intel—once the top chipmaker—blew its shot to be one of them by Geoff Colvin
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The CFTC is probing Jump Crypto, previously one of the sector’s biggest players by Leo Schwartz
Commentary: I became the semiconductor industry’s first female CEO after being a broke, single mom in a trailer park. Here’s how I did it by Christine King
Thomson Reuters CEO: AI guardrails remain unclear—but all companies can start by pledging to protect their customers’ data privacy by Steve Hasker
Billionaire Melinda French Gates endorses a presidential candidate for the first time ever by Alena Botros
This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Nicholas Gordon.
