Read the Conversation
EF: What are the current priorities on your agenda? What challenges and opportunities are Medtronic facing this year in Spain?
LSS: We are facing exciting times with many challenges, such as an aging population, shifting demographics, and economic sustainability. Spain has seventeen autonomous communities, which means variability is an important point for us, as is a lack of traditional measuring results - an important challenge. Currently, and over the next few years, we must focus on the lack of enough resources and the increasing demand. Medtronic aims to transform healthcare systems and improve efficiency in healthcare results through technology, using services and solutions that place the patient at the system's center. We base our objectives on four pillars:
- Transformation means doing things differently to achieve better results.
- Adding value to all the actions we put in the market, training to improve efficiency and achieve better results,
- Innovation: we are focused on developing new technologies for many different diseases, pacemakers, surgical products, robotization, neuromodulation, etc. while offering a broad number of integrated solutions for hospitals. I am fully convinced that Innovation is in our DNA.
- Education for professionals: we have been doing an excellent job on that for many years and we must continue. The economic sustainability of the system is a priority and achieving the maximum effectiveness of each product is also a shared responsibility to achieve it.
EF: What is the strategic importance of the Spanish market for the giant global Medtronic? When addressing HQ, what is your pitch to attract resources to Spain?
LSS: Spain is a dynamic and high-powered country. We operate at a high-quality level driven by a modern mindset and strong engagement. Our adaptability and effectiveness make us an attractive proposition for Medtronic, and we believe investment in Spain will yield significant returns.
EF: How do you balance and adapt your portfolio business units of diabetes, cardio, neuroscience, and surgical to Spain?
LSS: Our portfolio is strategically aligned with the needs of the worldwide market. We have a strong presence in four key areas: cardiovascular, neuroscience, medical-surgical, and diabetes. Each of these areas addresses specific healthcare challenges in Spain. For instance, diabetes is a global pandemic, and in Spain, it is a huge problem; we are contributing from a product perspective with great solutions. In medical-surgical, our new robotics solutions will position us as leaders in the field, being one of the country leaders in Western Europe. I could continue giving you examples for the rest of the portfolios, but I would say, as a general comment, that we are leaders at any one of them, contributing with the most innovative solutions and the best products that cater to the needs of the worldwide healthcare system and, of course, for Spain as well.
EF: Could you elaborate on how you are working with different stakeholders in Spain to improve medical education, working with physicians and patients?
LSS: We have many very focused and sophisticated technologies for which professionals need specific training. Just in Spain, Medtronic has run over a thousand educational activities to train physicians and healthcare professionals to use our products to their best ability and for maximum effectiveness. With that, it provides value-added resources to the healthcare system that improve efficiency for patients and hospitals.
EF: What has been the impact of the latest technological developments in robotics and AI on the industry over the last couple of years, and where will it go in the future?
LSS: With AI's strong presence, digitalization must be part of our present, and Medtronic and the sector are focused on this. Next year, they will assist in a kind of fight for data to be used and put to the service of professionals and patients. We are developing new technologies, such as digital health, and using images as market solutions. Data is crucial and must still be processed, which will change how we see the healthcare system now. We need data to move forward and improve the solutions we are currently providing, as well as to improve predictive medicine. Data will give us clues about the possibility of using more predictive and personalized medicine.
EF: With the transition to value-based healthcare, how do you envision a system where clinical outcomes are truly rewarded, and what must we do to arrive at a prosperous value-based healthcare model in Spain?
LSS: This is a topic that we have been working on for at least the last eighteen years; we are talking about the known concept of Value-Based. At the hospital level, the balance between outcomes and resources means the level of efficiency that we can get for any activity or procedure. That has become our focus during the last few years in order to help the system get the right balance. With the future landscape of a lack of resources and overloaded healthcare systems, we will have to be clearly more efficient. Medtronic can help achieve this efficiency balance by providing the right products to get better results and, at the same time, offering the best solution to manage resources in the best way. Over the years, we have gained important experience with that approach, and we should continue to help them sustain the system.
EF: How do you attract and retain talent in an industry where it is crucial that workers align with the company's mission and vision?
LSS: Seventeen years ago, we were awarded the Best Place to Work award for the first time. Since then, we have always been considered among the top companies for which to work. Our employees are proud to work for Medtronic; according to internal surveys, 95% of our employees are delighted to work in our company, which is a strong retainer factor. We always present cutting-edge technology and are in the first positions in the healthcare industry, making us a reference in the sector.
Another very attractive point is that each employee of Medtronic has his own career and development plan which is highly valued and a strong attraction for people from other companies to come.
EF: After an extensive career in Medtronic and the healthcare sector, what are you most proud of achieving after forty years in the industry?
LSS: Medtronic has given me the opportunity for professional development in the sector where I have always liked to be. To work in this sector and a company like Medtronic is something special, it gives you the opportunity to contribute to the patient's quality of life and life extension in many cases, all part of Medtronic’s mission, and that makes me feel good and collaborative with the people.
EF: Is there a final message you would like to share?
LSS: Last refection, it would be amazing to see that all the stakeholders in the Healthcare system are focused on economic sustainability and how the new technologies, like IA and digital transformation, will help it. The next decades will be focused on their whole implementation, where, of course, Medtronic will be involved, but Fenin, as an extraordinary unifier of healthcare companies, will also be leading this important transformation. Many thanks
