Innovation in Healthcare: VHA Health Foundation Special Report
The appetite for better heatlhcare systems has never been greater. The VHA Health Foundation (a public foundation created by VHA to promote and disseminate new, effective models that improve health and health care) issued a report last year highlighting several innovative organizations in the healthcare sector. BIF Research Advisor Larry Keeley and his firm Doblin, Inc. helped craft the study. Rather than the usual doom and gloom we read about in the business press, this report is quite good because it offers several solid and sustainable new business models.
And though it's specific to healthcare, the strategies used by these organizations are applicable to any industry. Anyone familiar with Larry Keeley and his approach knows that successful innovation strategies require that changes occur "fast enough to stay ahead of competition and often enough to keep brands relevant." For organizations that have invested in the necessary culture and infrastructure, these capabilities allow them to take on the most difficult challenges and provide a competitive advantage. The key is to build fewer and bolder concepts.
From the report: "In complex businesses like health care, there is a constant demand for resources to address problems and opportunities. Proponents of innovation in many areas come forward with a sincere conviction that their problems and their solutions are of great value to the organization. The problem is that by tackling many small problems, resources are diluted and the impact of the program may fall below the standard for true innovation. To get to that level, new ideas must have both scope and scale."
Some of the examples from the report include:
Sentara Healthcare. Sentara’s goal is that through innovation it has the opportunity to transform American health care. From 2002 to 2005, the organization achieved 25 regional “firsts.” Going forward, the areas of special interest
include non-nursing/non-physician care delivery models; chronic disease management; transformation of med/surg care and developing a consulting practice that would help other health care systems accelerate the adoption of innovations.
Community Health Network in central Indiana. Physicians had an interest in investing in freestanding surgical facilities. Working together with physicians, Community Health Network developed a management company called Visionary Enterprises, Inc. VEI and the physicians opened their first joint ventured surgical center in 1991. In addition to innovations in the delivery model and the business model, VEI also made a significant investment in the core processes. An anesthesiologist (the medical director) was hired to manage the facility with the philosophy of guaranteeing that a team would always be made available for the surgeons’ needs. Because the surgeons had a stake in the profitability of the venture, they became partners in managing costs, including negotiating with manufacturers. Today they have six surgery centers in Indiana and five in Michigan.
RELATED LINKS
Read more about BIF Research Advisor Larry Keeley and his approach to innovation
Learn more about the Business Innovation Factory's Patient Experience Labs
Get another VHA Report : Capital Asset Management: Five critical success factors for the next generation of health care
Posted March 19, 2007 09:45 AM by Chris Flanagan | Permalink
