In 2018, 47.6% of hospital spending was on drugs, a higher percentage than ever before and this is growing. With almost half of hospital spend being allocated to medicine, pharma represents the biggest area of expenditure for healthcare across the globe. It’s therefore vital that this spend isn’t simply justified, but that it’s also optimised for the very best outcomes to ensure patients, healthcare professionals, hospitals and healthcare systems benefit.
The highly respected healthcare entrepreneur and investor joins the board of a technology company poised to revolutionise medicine optimisation using artificial intelligence and machine learning, as it has already with patient flow.
London, 20th June 2019: Healthcare data analytics innovator Draper & Dash announces the appointment of entrepreneur and pharmaceutical industry specialist Natalie Douglas as non-executive director to drive its ambitions to transform how medicines are deployed for the benefit of patients, physicians and hospitals.
By appointing a proven market disruptor the business sends a clear message of intent that it will play a leading role in defining how pharmaceutical companies interact with healthcare systems and professionals in the future. Natalie and the founder of Draper & Dash, Orlando Agrippa, were introduced at the Kings Fund in London and was impressed by the technology and potential of the business.
Natalie Douglas comments: “We need to rethink how healthcare is delivered, not just in the NHS but in every system around the world. Powerful data analytics will be at the forefront of this change and Draper & Dash is already demonstrating the potential that exists. By embracing this technology, decision makers are more informed and empowered to drive better results and efficiencies.
“New ways of partnering with pharmaceutical companies are essential if we are to address the affordability and cost issues that dominate most healthcare delivery models. Being creative with technology and using alternative compensation methods – outcome-based payments for example – will be the foundation for the next stage of healthcare development.
“Monitoring, accurately measuring and processing these outcomes will be critical in making this work. With up to 90 percent of healthcare spending in the hands of physicians, it is important that they have the best data and the most powerful AI support as possible to make the right decisions. They need to understand the efficacy of the medicine, how specific patient demographics have responded in the past, whether treatment is better at home and get reliable predictive insight into the likely outcomes.”
Draper & Dash is revolutionising how patient flow is predicted and managed at A&E departments and private healthcare organisations with data analytics and artificial intelligence at the forefront. This has been deployed and is already delivering results in more than 20 organisations in the UK, Australia and the US. This appointment demonstrates the focus of the next phase of the business to bring the same benefits to the use of medicine in healthcare.
Orlando Agrippa, CEO and founder of Draper & Dash, comments: “With more that 25 years working with pharmaceutical companies in global markets, Natalie brings a wealth of experience that will be crucial to our success as our technology implemented for medicine optimisation and patient flow.
“Attracting an expert of Natalie’s calibre to the business is a key part of our strategy to accelerate growth into life sciences and demonstrates the potential our technology has in that field.”
Her reputation was boosted further when recruited as CEO for Healthcare at Home to rebuild the company’s operational capability and strengthen its relationship with the NHS. She now advises and invests in healthcare and technology companies across Europe and the US as chair and founder of Lucidity LLC.
Natalie started her career at Johnson & Johnson, before demonstrating her capability to define new markets with specialist pharmaceutical firm IDIS. In just over ten years
the company evolved from a £6million specialist business into a global market leader with more than £150 million in sales. During this time Natalie headed a private equity backed management buyout, becoming CEO and creating significant value for shareholders, eventually selling the business for more than £200 million.