Transforming Healthcare through Innovation at Optum India

Global Capability Centers (GCCs) have transitioned from their original role as cost optimisation centers to become pivotal innovation hubs, wherein they drive and lead organization-wide transformation initiatives, create technology breakthroughs, and develop new business lines and products. This shift has positioned India at the forefront of global innovation, with GCCs operating across sectors like aerospace, oil and gas, retail, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and financial services. Industry predictions suggest that the Indian IT industry, valued at $200 billion in 2022, could reach $500 billion by 2030, with GCCs expected to contribute more than 20% to this growth.

No longer limited to back-office support and customer service, GCCs are now vital elements of global enterprises, fully aligned with their parent organisations in terms of culture, values, and business objectives. "Gone are the days 10-15 years ago when it was about cost arbitrage. Today, GCCs are front-end centres, fully integrated into the enterprise, innovating across various domains," emphasised Harish Gudi, Senior Vice President of Technology at Optum India, in a recent interview.

He further elaborated on how Optum India is leveraging technology to make a tangible impact on people's overall health and well-being. “At Optum India, we are focused on enhancing accessibility, affordability and quality of care. To achieve this, we promote a culture of purposeful innovation because at the other end of every benefit claim, every authorisation, every click, and every call, is a person."

He shared about three key areas where innovation powered by cutting-edge technology is making a significant impact in health care:

1. Enhancing consumer experience

"Today’s informed and tech-enabled consumers can research their conditions, compare healthcare providers, and make informed choices about their care," said Harish, highlighting how technology has empowered patients to become active participants and decision-makers and not just recipients of care in their health journeys. The goal is to make healthcare simpler, more affordable, accessible, and personalised across different age groups – helping people live healthier day-to-day and ensuring that when they are faced with a healthcare challenge, they don’t feel a sense of dread or anxiety about navigating the system on their own.

2. Promoting wellness through technology

The integration of mobile devices and wearable technologies is playing a crucial role in personal wellness. People are now using these tools to monitor their health in real time, track diets and exercise routines, and share this data with their healthcare providers. As Harish notes, “Our goal is to empower consumers by providing them with the tools and insights to manage their health more effectively.”

3. Interoperable digital platforms

Thirdly,developing digital platforms that enable seamless data sharing across stakeholders can play a transformative role in healthcare. "With proper consent, these platforms allow consumers to manage their health information from multiple providers, effectively creating their own healthcare ecosystem," Harish explained in the interview, highlighting that their approach to technology isn’t about designing another app to fix health care. It’s about connecting people to their care teams, payers to providers, and ultimately connecting a disconnected health systemto work better for the people it was created to serve.

This innovation in healthcare demands a profound cultural shift and commitment to integrating customer-centric practices. The ‘Sit with Ops’ initiative at Optum India fosters close collaboration between technology teams and operations, ensuring that solutions are designed with a deep understanding of real-world challenges faced by consumers, patients, and physicians. This approach, described by Harish Gudi as “zero distance innovation,” allows for developing highly relevant and impactful solutions.

Additionally, this customer-centric focus is further strengthened via innovative training methods. For example, new recruits experience a day in the life of elderly patients to build empathy and improve service quality. Another example is the reimagined learning approach for clinical reviewers involved in fraud, waste, and abuse processes, which includes real-life clinical simulations in virtual reality combined with a knowledge and technology-focused development program. This immersive and interactive training helps reviewers better understand and address complex healthcare issues.

Learning and development initiatives, such as the "Learn Anywhere" system and "We TV," offer employees bite-sized learning modules and crowdsourced content. "It's all about making sure everyone has access to learning and training systems globally," Gudi stated. This method promotes continual learning and keeps staff updated on the latest industry trends and innovations.

As the healthcare industry evolves, GCCs like Optum India are becoming central to driving innovation and improving patient outcomes. The healthcare industry, and health tech in particular, are on the brink of transformative change. This is a field where emerging technologies can significantly impact millions of lives.

Harish’s advice to technology professionals is clear: “Focus on putting the consumer at the heart of your innovations and use technology to empower them effectively. Make thoughtful choices about your career, balancing short-term gains with long-term vision, and remember that the healthcare sector’s rapid growth offers unparalleled opportunities to address complex challenges and make a meaningful difference in the world.”

Catch the full interview here:

Disclaimer: This article has been produced by HT Brand Studio with inputs from the brand.