The healthcare industry requires more personal leadership now than ever before to help achieve healthcare transformation, Premier President and CEO Susan DeVore said during a June 20 keynote session at Premier's 2018 Breakthroughs Conference and Exhibition in Nashville, Tenn.
Ms. DeVore highlighted a 2017 Gallup poll that found only 37 percent of Americans are confident in the country's medical system, compared to 80 percent in 1975. "Almost two-thirds of the patients we serve ... don't trust us. And that's a problem," she said. "In spite of our tireless efforts and tremendous innovation driving the medical field, the very people that innovation was intended to serve are losing confidence in us."
Ms. DeVore believes the key to improving healthcare and patient trust lies in empowering individual members of the healthcare community. Most people only talk about two types of leaders: the visionary trailblazer who carries the team into the future, like Tesla founder Elon Musk, and the leader who stays behind the scenes to prod others forward, like Nelson Mandela.
"But I truly believe what we also need is leadership from the masses. From the millions of people who are driving healthcare delivery and innovation in this country," Ms. DeVore said. "I think that requires a third way, and that's leading from within."
To Ms. DeVore, "leading from within" means finding the courage to be a driver of change. She believes members of the healthcare industry must step up to challenge the status quo and be advocates for patients.
"Leadership is about our potential to impact and influence lives," she said, adding that the real challenge is knowing when to take action.
Most great leaders throughout history who had the biggest influence on our world were unexpected voices reacting to turbulent times, according to Ms. DeVore.
"They didn't do it because they were asked to, but because they chose to," she said. "Leadership is not an innate gift. It's a choice."