When Paul Chan joined our team as the VP of Product, he brought nearly 15 years of experience in the PBM industry–and a passion for making healthcare work better for everyone.
Now, with almost a year as an Abarcan under his belt, Paul is sharing his approach to product strategy, priorities, and more:
How would you define your approach to product strategy?
Dr. Albert, Szent-Györgyi, a Nobel Prize-winning biochemist, once said, “Innovation is seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” Those words have really stuck with me.
Because of our team, technology, and culture, I believe that Abarca is positioned better than any other PBM to deliver truly innovative solutions for clients and members that others never considered. So, my approach is simple: ensure that we have the right people, culture, processes, and resources in place to do that over and over again.
What are your top priorities?
I see our priorities in two categories. First, because we are never satisfied, we are continuously working to improve the service we provide today. We hold ourselves to the highest standards and never take anything for granted, and there are definitely areas where we can improve.
Second, we have an ambitious roadmap of new solutions and new ways to offer our current ones. I don’t want to give too much away regarding some of the innovations we are working on. But, with respect to our existing portfolio, we believe clients should have the maximum flexibility possible to leverage the solutions they need from us—including those that enable them to perform certain functions in-house. The larger PBMs tend to handcuff plans into taking the bundles that are most profitable for the PBM. We reject that kind of thinking.
What makes Abarca’s products different from everything else in the market?
In a word: Darwin™. Our advanced PBM technology platform gives us the potential, flexibility, and power that I believe is unique in the industry. In particular, it enables us to seamlessly integrate everything we do. Where others in the industry struggle to connect their platforms to other products, modules, and services, everything we create works with our current and future offerings.
What is one thing that surprised you when you joined the Abarca family?
Abarca’s positive corporate culture is truly unique. The entire team is a family, yet everyone is open to challenging one another–no matter what the person’s job title–if he or she thinks it will deliver better service to our customers or make us a better company. You’ll often hear around the company, “we challenge from a place of care,” and the longer I’m here, the truer that rings.
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*This blog post was written by Paul Chan, Vice President of Product at Abarca Health.