“They are not an IT company, they are not a health company; they
make beer,” says Chicksen. “We see a clear connection between eHealth and a larger health objective and how a non-IT and non- health company can actually add value to the whole picture. “There is a real connect between how an information system is
really valuable for business in terms of managing its own needs but also how that same system can support some of the core aspects of how we actually deliver healthcare. It’s a perfect example of how business can actually be a contributor to society by reinforcing the value we get from the eSpace.” Of course, Anglogold Ashanti has also used eRelated technology
to drive internal performance, and Chicksen is proud of the fact that because of this the company has many eHealth capabilities. “We see technology as a key lever that we can put in place to enhance our health performance.” “We have a huge TB problem in the South African mining
industry, and if we are going to address this then we are going to need an integrated programme,” he explains. “One of the programmes we utilise when looking to prevent the transmission of the disease is a medical surveillance programme, based on risk. What are the occupations of the people more likely to develop TB, and where do they live? When we have that information, we set up screening programmes. “We used to use traditional X-Rays to do
this screening, which was inefficient, so we made a strategic decision in 2005 to adopt digital X-Ray technology, which enhances the quality and efficiency of the system,” he continues. “This enables people to have the X-Ray on their way to or from work as well as increasing our storage capability, meaning we can both store and share important health information. We piloted this technology and proved the business case in one of our occupational health centres, and were then able to scale it to another centre and so on. “We worked with the suppliers to work a way of getting the
machines on to flat-bed trucks so we could have a mobile screening service,” continues Chicksen. “We then scheduled the trucks to go to different mines or business units at certain times and scheduled the people to be screened at the same time. “This is a good example of how if you can understand how to
utilise the information systems you have and integrate technology, then you can really drive performance and efficiency.” Chicksen believes that using the systems you already have more
smartly so as to look after your work force more efficiently, is just half the picture of how business should be involved in healthcare. He also believes that this business proposition for improved healthcare should be connected with the overall government healthcare strategy – and again he champions the idea of collective responsibility not only between both industry and the public sector, but also within industry itself. “Of course, there still needs to be a lot of thought into the
technical aspects of our eHealth strategy,” he says, “A single company doing exceptional work is just not good enough. Companies need to be working together as opposed to competing with each other. In doing this, you build certain capabilities, whether they are people capabilities, process capabilities or technology capabilities, and you can then start leveraging off these capabilities to create more value in the community, enhancing
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access to healthcare. This means business is not doing things for the public sector, but doing things with the public sector.” While this idea seems relatively simple, a big question still
remains: how do companies like Anglogold Ashanti start transferring their capabilities into the broader public healthcare structures? “I think we start by looking at our internal capabilities and then develop more
co-designed pilots
involving the communities,
working within the national eHealth strategy and healthcare framework,” he explains. “The national framework defines what the broad societal need is and the government defines policy to meet that need, so we need to support them in that. “We need to find ways of working together at the operational
level to come up with the solutions and then pilot, test and demonstrate success,” he continues. “I think by demonstrating success, we can do two things – one, find the principles for scale, and two, start using those successes to start informing the various iterations of policy.” Of course, South Africa is now at a pivotal moment for its
“If we look at eHealth, we tend to focus on
businesses that have very specific technological capabilities”
healthcare policy, with the publication of the National eHealth Strategy by the Department of Health. Naturally, Chicksen applauds this move and now calls for swift action in integrating his business model into it to help make it work. “Firstly, we need to understand the
framework in which we have to work, and it is the role of government to explain that,” he says. “But the framework doesn’t necessarily give us the tools to actually make it work, so as business, we need to align to those frameworks and then implement coherent activities within our particular areas and select pilots that extend beyond our own work boundaries.
“We have to adhere to the principles outlined in the frameworks
and when we find things that don’t work or make sense we should feed into the framework to help refine it. “This is an ongoing, evolutionary challenge, a continuous process
of refinement, but key to its success is the need for agreement on a collective goal, with commitment to learning and commitment to acting that will drive the continuous improvement.” While Chicksen’s call for collective agreement and cooperation
seems simple on the surface, he knows the possible pitfalls involved in various stakeholders addressing the healthcare agenda from different perspectives. “Each sector has a different perspective on the situation and so each has its own solutions and this tends to drive a more adversarial approach and this can be counter- productive,” he says. “What we need is for all the stakeholders to work together and build trust. “There are many different forums for this, but you have to choose
them carefully. I like the eStrategies Forum approach because it forces people to be around the table, having the conversation and building trust. Whilst I am interested in some of the ideas that are discussed at a technological level, my main interest is that we are actually having the conversation with the right stakeholders. “We are all in the same boat,” Chicksen concludes. “It is not a
government problem, an industry problem or a societal problem – it is a common challenge and we need to reach a common understanding of that problem and then all bring our relative strengths to the table to solve it. Once we have done that, we must commit to action.”
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