universal health services

Fortune Staff

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The medical management company operates 400 clinics and other health care facilities across the U.S. and U.K.

Universal Health Services | 2023 World's Most Admired Companies

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Universal Health Services

Universal Health Services | 2023 World's Most Admired Companies | Fortune

You know Alan, everybody's talking about leadership these days, there's a vacuum of leadership. What makes a great leader? I think, a leader has to have a mission in mind that's larger than himself or herself and day to day work. I think they have to want to accomplish something. And if they can articulate that and communicate it to people sincerely, then they can get people to follow them who are willing to absorb that and are motivated by that. That mission. All right, so a leader may have a vision, but how do you get people to follow your lead, and to give their very best to whatever cause it is? One big things is trust. People have to trust the leader, and the way that a leader can build trust To me is to have integrity, have character. Be honest. It takes a certain skill to lead people also, when you're going through a lot of change. And health care is going through a major transformation. How do you motivate people to follow your lead when there's so much uncertainty about the future of your industry? The whole world is changing. Things are changing in industries that are much more rapid than our own. And a lot of industries are disappearing because they're being replaced. The good thing that I always tell our people, and they know, is that healthcare is not going to be replaced. Hospitals won't be replaced. We may change. But we're not going to be replaced, because people age, and as they age, they have more problems, more injuries, and they'll always need healthcare. That's not going to go away. In your long career, what's the best advice you've ever gotten when it comes to leadership? Don't ask people to do things that you're not willing to do yourself. I think that people recognize that you're not above them. You're You have a different title and you have different responsibilities, but you're working. You're working right along. I work long hours. I lead by example. I think that's very important. Learned that in the military. Lead by example. People are looking at the leader. And from your conduct People understand the culture of the organization, what you are willing to tolerate and not willing to tolerate. At our organization we don't tolerate the wrong thing. And people understand that. And for the most part they like that.

Alan B. Miller, CEO of Universal Health Services, talks about how he's leading the company through a rapidly shifting healthcare landscape.

How do you motivate people in a changing industry?

Leadership

Alan B. Miller on leading United Health Services. 

We're seeing a trend in healthcare to become more consumer eccentric. What are you doing with your hospitals to be more attentive to the consumer? We do a lot of surveys. We want to know what the patient sees, what they are pleased with, what they are not pleased with. We are very consumer oriented. And we have to be, because the physicians will tell us that this has to be improved, that has to be improved, or they will take their patients elsewhere. We're seeing a lot of companies who are getting into the healthcare area. And these are the non- traditional companies, like Apple, Google. What impact do you think that the startups, so to speak, will have on the healthcare system? I know that Apple's getting into it. You take Walgreens, or you take Target. Well, CVS is obviously in the healthcare business with the pharmacies, but these other people now, are having these clinics. I guess the reason is that They can generate traffic and then they can sell other things. You go in. You show somebody, I don't know, a pimple or something and they tell you what you are to do about it and then you're in Target. So I might as well take a look at the ladies department or the mens department. Well, I gotta buy my kid a gift. So they're generating traffic. That's the only reason for it. Do you think it's a good thing? I think it's good, actually, if people can get something treated early on, it may not progress. But nobody believes they're going to get great treatment at Target, or at Walgreen's. [ LAUGH ] Do you see yourself collaborating with companies like Apple and Google with these disrupters down the road? I'm all for it, depends on what they have to offer us and what we can offer them, but we collaborate with a lot of different Organizations. I'm all for it. I'm for communication. I'm for collaboration, and the biggest thing is adaptability. We have to be adaptive.

Universal Health Services CEO: 'We have to be adaptive'

Alan B. Miller discusses changes in healthcare.

Alan B. Miller sits down with Fortune's Susie Gharib to discuss the changing landscape of healthcare.

Alan, there has been so much consolidation in the health care sector. Hospitals buying other hospitals, you've been buying hospitals. Why is bigger better? It's not necessarily better but it does enable you to have a more experienced professional staff. We have the resources now That we can provide everything to a hospital or a network of hospitals that you can't do when you don't have size. What about cost? You know, Obamacare gave access to so many more people to healthcare, but it didn't do much to bring down costs. Are these mergers creating more cost efficiencies? I think there were some, but I think when you talk about the course of health care, it's got to be measured very carefully. Because we're seeing that the length of stay in hospitals, for example, is dramatically reduced. People have a baby today, they're out the next day. The quality of health It's much harder, the course is certainly harder, but look at the equipment we have today. The quality of treatment and then the treatment resulting in a much better result for the patient, it's astounding but it costs money. Certainly there are breakthroughs in medicine and that does make all of us healthier But what has to happen to bring costs down? It should be the whole continuum. We talk about having a group where it's a physician, the hospital, and the aftercare, and I think if those are combined with a little bit up front treatment Education. People can be healthier, live longer and the cost could be less.

What will it take to lower healthcare costs?

Health

Universal Health Services on lowering healthcare prices. 

Universal Health Services CEO Alan B. Miller discusses his company's strategy to lower the price of healthcare.

Universal Health Services

Company Information

World's Most Admired Companies
As of 2/1/2023

Universal Health Services

Company Information

World's Most Admired CompaniesAs of 2/1/2023

World's Most Admired Companies
As of 2/1/2023