Spotlight On: Dr Rodolfo Catena, Lecturer in Operations and Supply Management

Tell me more about your background – It would be great to find out more about your education and career so far.

I have studied in both the United States and Europe. I have a Master's in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from UC Berkeley. I have a doctorate from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. I have completed this degree as a member of the Technology and Operations Management research area.  I have also two degrees from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Bologna in Italy.

I have teaching experience from the University of Oxford, UC Berkeley and I have led the Postgraduate Programmes at the School of Health and Care Management at Arden University.  As a Senior Lecturer, I have supported colleagues in delivering lessons and led the development of new teaching material.

I have worked internationally to deliver Value-Based Health Care and I am an advocate for the use of data to improve patient outcomes. I have worked with Value-Based Procurement and Commissioning, which have the aim to reward suppliers and healthcare providers for the outcomes patients achieve. I have worked with large amounts of data and with the integration of different data sources to gain novel insight to improve healthcare delivery.

Why are you excited to be joining the UCL Global Business School for Health?

The UCL Global Business School for Health (UCL GBSH) is the first business school in the world focusing on health and healthcare management and has the essential aim to improve outcomes, experience and access to healthcare worldwide. I am excited to be part of this journey to improve healthcare delivery and to contribute with my knowledge and skills. There are great opportunities to improve outcomes and decrease waste and it is essential that healthcare leaders worldwide identify and seize them.

I am excited about the opportunity to train current and future leaders. I want to share with them the latest advancements in my discipline and engage with them to ensure they can apply these tools in their roles. I want to reflect with them on case studies and hear about their experience.

I am looking forward to joining a faculty of international researchers and to contributing to UCL research output. The UCL Global Business School for Health is a vibrant environment for new ideas and innovation. I am excited to join and learn from a group of renowned researchers and to provide my input.

What are you most excited to teach the first cohort of UCL GBSH students?

Operations and supply chain management have an essential relevance in the current economic context. I am looking forward to teaching the tools to improve performance. I want students to focus on how to improve outcomes for patients. I want them to think about how to eliminate bureaucratic tasks that make our work slower. I want them to propose new ideas on how we can focus on activities that really generate value for our patients.

I am excited to discuss why healthcare organisations need to collaborate together. For example, the pharmaceutical industry, hospitals and home care. The key goal is always to improve outcomes. The key question is how we ensure that all the relevant organisations contribute effectively to this goal.

I am also looking forward to discussing case studies. I want students to share their knowledge with other students. I want them to reflect on key decisions that they may have to face as healthcare leaders. 

Is healthcare management an area more business schools should be exploring? If so, why?

The healthcare industry is a significant part of the economy of most countries. For example, according to the OECD, health spending accounted for 17% of the US GDP and 10% of the UK GDP in 2019. Healthcare costs are soaring and, more and more healthcare managers are struggling because of tight budgets. 

There is a number of factors that are further complicating the current scenario. For example, an ageing population, new technologies that contribute to the increase of healthcare expenditures and the increase of comorbidities in the population.

Business schools provide essential knowledge and skills for people who are or want to be healthcare leaders.  For example, financial skills can help us to assess an investment in innovation, operations management knowledge can help us when we want to make our work more efficient and human resources management skills are key to managing team members with different expectations and motivations. Leadership is what we need if we want to be able to provide affordable care in the long term.

What contribution do you want to bring to the school and future students?

I want to contribute to research and to what UCL is doing to improve healthcare worldwide. It is essential to create new knowledge and ensure that these new advancements have an impact on society. My aim is to contribute to both aspects. 

I am looking forward to teaching to a vibrant community of students.  I want to discuss with them why operations and supply chain management are key if we want to improve healthcare. I want to make sure students learn about supply chain disruptions and their contributing factors.

In general, my key goal is to catalyse innovation in healthcare. There is a great potential to improve how we deliver outcomes and to ensure that more people worldwide have access to healthcare services.