Friday, May 18, 2012
   
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Opinion: Steve Sobak On Emerging Trends in the Healthcare Industry in the next 5 years.

Featured in BCM Institute Q3 2010 Resilience Newsletter

150px-BCM_Institute_Steve_SobakWe caught up with Steve Sobak, Chairman of BCM Institute’s Advisory Council and Chief Executive Officer for the Singapore Cord Blood Bank to get the inside scoop on BCM trends in the next 5 years as well as his interest in volunteering at BCM Institute.

Healthcare is an evolving industry, that is constantly being introduced to new BCM challenges, arising from three factors namely, new conditions, new technology and a changing environment.

For example: New diseases are being identified, for which there may be no current, effective treatment. If the disease is identified and isolated quickly, it could lead to the quarantine of all or part of an individual facility which would impact the provision of services. Previously this occurred with SARS and H1N1 and there will be other new variants to emerge over the years to come, from natural or man-made sources.  New Technology -  If new technology is used incorrectly or prematurely, it could result in poor clinical outcomes that could have a negative impact on the reputation of the organization. This is especially the case with the use of new medical equipment, procedures, medications, or IT technology that is being introduced to provide treatment to patients.

Changing Environment - There is a need to be sensitive to the potential effects of natural disasters. Take for instance, the case of a Tsunami threat - which could become a reality to Singapore if the volcanic activities in Sumatra continues to grow. Although Singapore has not been ravaged by Tsunamis in the past, due attention must be given to the function of the direction and location of the volcanic or tectonic plate activity. There is an impending danger for massive ash plumes as well, if one or more of the active volcanoes, such as Anak Krakatoa erupts. While volcanic ash clouds could affect air travel, aviation experts contend that tiny particles of rock, glass and sand contained in volcanic ash clouds from erupting volcano could be sufficient to jam aircraft engines. Volcanic ash clouds also impedes regional transportation services which could in turn affect the availability or accessibility of supplies from other country sources.

Apart from natural disasters, we have to consider the provision of adequate security in the physical premises, as terrorists are now starting to target hospitals and healthcare services as soft, secondary targets. We see this being played in the Ritz-Carlton and Mariott hotel bombing which were located within the business districts in Jakarta as well as the setting-off of explosive devices in the hospitals where the injured were taken for treatment.

In general, I believe there will be greater awareness of BCM as more companies and facilities begin to understand and appreciate the holistic approach to review and assess potential BCM-threatening conditions that could affect their Core Business Functions. This expanded understanding would cover the entire "supply chain" where the organisation identifies the vulnerable areas where things may go wrong, or in areas with an over-dependence on supply sources with no BCM in place.

Business is now global, customers and suppliers are now global, so a wider perspective is required to preserve Business Continuity under more challenging conditions than it existed previously.

As for my interest in volunteering with BCM Institute, I believe this was an unpassable opportunity to work with other like-minded individuals interested in offering ideas and concepts. It's great to be on the planning camp, that employs the latest BC-DR thought leadership compared to the reactionary camp. Secondly, I am passionate about educating and promoting BCM concepts. Volunteering my time enables me to be more professional while I actively promote BCM Institute's efforts in being a leader in BC-DR training and organisation certification in the Asia Pacific Region.