Innovation in healthcare is often loud and overhyped; full of AI, automation, and futuristic promises. But what if the most powerful innovations weren’t the ones grabbing headlines, but the ones solving the quieter, overlooked problems at the frontlines of care?
I always appreciate when Laura Edell, Chief Data Scientist, AI and Machine Learning in New Markets at Microsoft, shares her perspective, "Innovation in healthcare isn’t about the shiny new tools in the shed; it’s about the quiet revolutions that are allowed to grow. But when we don’t put people first, it’s like a gardener tending to the roots while ignoring the weeds."
People first, tech last.
Innovating closer to the front line
Much of what is marketed as "innovation" today ignores the realities of physicians, nurses, and staff dealing with chronic process, human factor and design challenges.
Technology and processes should serve people, not the other way around. The real breakthroughs are the ones that reduce friction, give back time or reduce waiting, and free up healthcare workers to focus on what matters, caring for patients.
Innovating closer to community
When healthcare innovation aligns with economic and social well-being, the benefits extend far beyond hospital walls. Consider:
🔹 Blue Zones principles; the most effective interventions for preventing chronic disease have nothing to do with expensive treatments. Innovations including better food access, walkable communities, sensible policies and social engagement drive long-term health and lower costs.
🔹 Integrating housing and healthcare; Health begins where people live. Innovations that connect housing, transportation, and preventive care can reduce hospitalizations, lower costs, and improve outcomes particularly for low-income and underserved populations.
The biggest returns on investment come from eliminating waste, reducing unnecessary complexity, and helping people live healthier lives in the first place.
Systemic Innovation
Our way of looking at four models is something like a rubik cube (remember those?) including the Doblin Innovation Types, The Quadruple Aims, DSRP Systems Thinking Model and our Time Value ModelTM that becomes a rich approach to finding opportunities and connecting dots (maybe more on this later).
A Call to Reimagine Innovation
The future of healthcare won’t be won by the flashiest tech, the biggest budgets, or the most complex algorithms. It will be won by those who:
✔ Put people first, technology second.
✔ Focus on overlooked areas where innovation makes the biggest impact.
✔ Create economic value by making patients and communities healthier, and the care givers better and better off.
This is what health creation looks like. This is where value is created.
