Process innovations in the health care system

LINKING ACTIONS TO EFFECTS

 

 

Average health care costs per capita in many countries, including Poland, are increasing every year, and yet health care systems are often criticized by patients and health care professionals as inefficient and unsatisfactory. The discussion on how to improve this situation usually focuses on increasing financial resources. While this may be a solution, it cannot become the only solution. Healthcare systems around the world are proving to be a bottomless pit and will take as much funding as they can get.

 

Due to the increase in life expectancy and the increase in the incidence of lifestyle diseases, innovations in health care are now needed more than ever before. Although we probably notice innovative medicines or health products more, we rarely pay attention to innovations in organization and processes. This is not surprising, since such changes are usually imperceptible to patients and underestimated by doctors, they have a subtle but very significant impact on solving the identified problems. Although not as visible and valued by stakeholders as changes to products or business models, innovation through process changes is the least risky way to achieve desired outcomes.

 

A process is a mix of technical infrastructure, technology, skills and procedures. All these elements are used together to solve the problem. It is the functional advantage of a new process in solving a problem compared to its previous version that indicates the emergence of innovation. An innovative process therefore contains an element of novelty, successfully applied to the visible benefit of stakeholders.

 

In the context of the healthcare industry, the term “stakeholders” includes patients, physicians and other healthcare professionals, as well as payers and market regulators.

 

The European Commission defines process innovation as:

 

Process innovations aim to reduce the resources involved, such as time spent on certain activities, costs and other resources, and eliminate inefficiencies.

 

 

Process innovations are believed to be less risky than other types of innovations, making them theoretically easier to adopt by a generally change-averse health care industry that operates under the Hippocratic Oath of “first do no harm.”

 

Adopting new solutions requires stakeholders to notice and appreciate their advantages over existing solutions. The chances of accepting an innovation increase if stakeholders have the opportunity to apply it and if it is in their interest. It is also good if the innovation is not too difficult to implement and can be tested on a small scale before implementation. Finally, minimizing risk increases the chances of innovation adoption.

 

Herzlinger, in his article for the Harvard Business Review, lists six factors responsible for facilitating or hindering the implementation of innovations in health care. These include industry players, funding, policy, technology, customers and the assignment of responsibility.

 

This list of key factors can actually be narrowed down to three main categories:

Interests are represented by stakeholders, including payers (insurers or healthcare systems), users and service providers (health care institutions). Reconciling their interests, with particular emphasis on patients, is the key to introducing innovative process solutions.

 

Assignment of responsibility refers to linking activities to outcomes to demonstrate, based on evidence, the superiority of an innovative process compared to legacy solutions.

 

Innovation enablers include technologies (drivers of innovation) and policy, i.e. the efforts of policymakers and industry regulators to ensure that industry players act, among other things, in the best interests of patients.

 

Wzięcie pod uwagę tych trzech kluczowych czynników w fazie koncepcji, opracowania i wdrożenia gwarantuje, że innowacja procesowa przyniesie efekty w opiece zdrowotnej, jak również będzie miała pozytywny wpływ na interesariuszy.