Articles
Innovation in healthcare (1)
- November 16, 2021
- Posted by: mghalandari
- Category: Definition Future of digital health Technology
WHO definition
Health innovation is to develop new or improved health policies, systems, products and technologies, and services and delivery methods that improve people’s health, with a special focus on the needs of vulnerable populations.
- WHO engages in health innovation in the context of universal health coverage
- Health innovation adds value in the form of improved efficiency, effectiveness, quality, safety and/or affordability
- Health innovation can be in preventive, promotive, therapeutic, rehabilitative and/or assistive care
It is important, however, to emphasize that the group does not limit health innovation to only product development.
Strengthening of health systems requires ever evolving policies which translate into improved development and delivery of health services and technologies. Needs-based innovation catalysis this process. Discovery, development and delivery of health products and services are integral components of a holistic approach to health innovation. Business innovation is also critical for finding and scaling up financially sustainable solutions. It may involve initiatives to address market failures of various kinds and build new, synergistic partnerships employing open access policies. Our approach to health innovation is hence holistic and builds on the notion of integrated innovation, which is the coordinated application of scientific/technological, social and business innovation to develop solutions to complex challenges. We highlight those innovations emerge anywhere and we recognize the potential for global innovation flow from south-to-north.
Innovation can be defined as invention + adoption + diffusion. In healthcare, it may be a novel idea, product, service or care pathway that has clear benefits when compared to what is currently done. Successful innovations often possess two key qualities: they are both usable and desirable.
How can proven innovations be quickly and effectively adopted as best practice and taken up across the whole healthcare system?
How can the commercial success of our ideas be realised at home rather than abroad, as has too often been the case?
The challenge of innovating in healthcare
The NHS faces a number of key issues that need to be addressed if we are to successfully innovate:
- budgets are limited
- demand is increasing
- the front line is under increasing pressure
- public expectations are rising
- accepting failure as part of the innovation process
- Creating a culture for innovation
Many healthcare staff have great ideas for improving the system and patient experience. If we are to realise the benefits from this, we must create a culture where innovation can flourish, and where our staff and patients feel empowered to contribute to the innovation process and help make change happen.
Many of the building blocks that form the foundation of a more innovative culture are already in place. Some of the key culture-building components are listed below:
- Best practice tariffs: incentivise and reimburse providers for the cost of high-quality, innovative care
- Innovation Challenge Prizes: a national level celebration and reward for outstanding innovation in healthcare
- Healthcare Small Business Research Initiative : pre-commercial procurement contracts for research and development in innovative healthcare products and services
- Clinical excellence awards: rewarding clinicians for quality improvement, research and innovation
- Academic Health Science Networks: regional organisations bringing together healthcare, academia and industry on an open innovation platform to lead work in the NHS on adoption and diffusion of innovation
- The National Institute for Health and Care: including Implementation Collaborative, Medical Innovation Briefings, Medical Technologies Evaluation Programme
- Healthcare Innovation portal: innovation connect and exchange provides support, advice and navigation through the system and is open to all who want to innovate and collaborate in healthcare
- Innovation Scorecard: enables benchmarking and increases transparency for the variation of adoption in technology
- collaborations between the healthcare system and innovators that harness technology to address some of the most complex issues facing the health service. They provide real world sites testing combinatorial innovations that can deliver better care, better patient experience of care at the same or lower overall cost
- National Innovation Accelerator: a fellowship programme equipping innovators with the skills knowledge and experience to drive the uptake of their proven innovations across the healthcare system.
Health and Social Care Innovation Expo
- Healthy New Towns programme: improving health through the built environment, reshaping the health of communities and rethinking how health and care services can be delivered.
- A Continuing Clinical Innovation points scheme: this will become part of the continuing professional development scheme.
- The Innovation Technology Tariff: national level reimbursement for new medtech innovations
- The Clinical Entrepreneur Programme: a workforce development programme allowing clinicians to continue their frontline healthcare roles while developing their entrepreneurial ideas