HealthManagement, Volume 12, Issue 4 /2010

"Caring for the world, one person at a time" is how Steinmann described Johnson & Johnson. In today's healthcare environment, the focus on quality, trust and safety has never been greater and more important. Steinmann believes that it is this focus and the commitment to the medical community and patients, which ignites new innovation, continuing education and better approaches to delivering products to customers.


Steinmann cited the three main challenges in hospital management today as: comprehensive care for patients, managing patient safety/quality management, and operational efficiency. Comprehensive care for patients means we must focus on innovation and customer solutions; looking at healthcare from a patient-centric perspective. This comprehensive care also depends on continuing professional education (product training, surgeonto- surgeon training, etc.) Steinmann used the European Surgical Institute as an example. This institute is a modern and innovative centre for surgical training with lessons in the latest minimally invasive surgery skills, expert teachers and state of the art simulation technology.


To illustrate the second challenge, managing patient safety/ quality management, Steinmann turned to single-use devices. Johnson & Johnson medical device companies provide high quality, cost-effective single- use devices that are designed and manufactured to be used on a single patient for one diagnostic or surgical procedure, and then discarded. Quality can be enhanced by design controls and risk management tools, benchmarking and the utilisation of the latest (cutting edge) technologies.


Operational efficiency, the third and final challenge was illustrated through suture inventory management. The key advantages of such a system include minimal time invested by hospital in managing their inventories; less likelihood to run into a back order situation as during regular stock takes; continuous and speedy replenishment of used inventory, and less capital intensive.


Steinmann concluded his presentation by reiterating his company's commitment, "a true collaboration of all involved in the health of patients based on trust, responsibility and guiding principles." 

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