Becker's Hospital Review

53 CIO / HEALTH IT systems give up on their innovation effort be- fore it has a chance to bear fruit or deliver an ROI — that is always disappointing. Fellow C-suite executives who embrace innovation should be cautious about holding the innova- tion capacity to the exact same standards as other functions or initiatives; the value of a robust innovation capacity might need to be measured by a different scorecard, including its power to recruit and retain top talent. e second barrier is making sure that access to the innovation apparatus is distributed across the entire enterprise so everyone has an outlet for their creative thought. At NYU Lan- gone, we recognize that everyone is an expert at their job. Each of our caregivers, whether a "doc" or working on the loading dock, proba- bly has ideas to improve what they do to help patients or advance the institution. Maintain- ing and marketing a conduit for ideas to get from the front line to the stewards of the strat- egy and resources for the enterprise is vital. We host ideas festivals and thought leadership fo- rums, such as our quarterly Innovation Pitch, where any of our nearly 60,000 employees can present their ideas to make NYU Langone bet- ter to judges including our CEO, CFO and Mr. Ken Langone himself. How do we overcome these obstacles? e answer is the same for both: education. ere must be a champion for innovation at these large organizations, and he or she must con- tinually communicate the nature and impor- tance of reducing creative thought to practice. ey must be prepared to interact with cre- ative colleagues in every corridor of their or- ganization and with all the potential partners from across the entire healthcare landscape. Q: What's the biggest mistake play- ers in the healthcare industry are making when it comes to innovation? TG: ey fail to recognize that innovation is not an ethereal wind that blows through their organization to bring a "eureka" moment to the few smart creatives that happen to capture it. On the contrary, innovation is a discipline to be practiced. It›s process- oriented and metrics-driven. Ever since we helped to pioneer the contemporary concept of innovation more than two decades ago, we have continually sharpened our focus on the mechanisms to solicit, develop, divest and deploy innovation. We developed multivariable scoring instru- ments to discern both clinical/technical mer- it and market feasibility. We are continually validating these tools to make sure that they reflect the current landscape. Furthermore, we solicit advisory expertise at every step of the process: first peer review to judge whether the idea is truly novel and achievable, then input from the investment community and industry to determine if it can attract capital, can be made at scale and will be viable in the market. ere are other gaps that must be bridged when implementing and operating a success- ful innovation function. ese include the knowledge gap that exists when innovation is not understood or accepted and the capital gap with which we all struggle, in the funding of organic-stage ideas. However, in today's environment, where al- most all CEOs list innovation as one of their top priorities, the biggest mistake is in not treating it with the same gravitas as their oth- er core competencies. Innovation can make a huge difference as a nonclinical revenue gen- erator, a recruitment and reward tool and a way to move the needle of patient preference — and it should be practiced, recognized and nurtured as such. n Cut Costs Without Cutting Service Cut Costs Without Cutting Service Cut Costs Without Cutting Service Call: 844-SUTURES info@eSutures.com eSutures.com Over 1 million surgical items in stock and ready to ship same day! *Offer is valid for one (1) time use per customer. Expires 12/31/19 Wyoming health system halts patient admissions after ransomware attack By Mackenzie Garrity G illette, Wyo.-based Campbell County Health sus- pended new inpatient admissions and canceled some surgeries Sept. 20 due to a ransomware attack, according to a news release on the health system's website. Patients who arrived at the emergency department or walk-in clinic Sept. 20 were evaluated and transferred to the appropriate facility if needed. While there was no time- line for when the hospital would be normally functioning immediately after the attack, Campbell County Health be- gan to resume some operations within days. "We have processes in place to continue to treat inpatients appropriately and safely," said COO Colleen Heeter. As of Sept. 21, Campbell County Memorial Hospital's emer- gency department was accepting patients. Additionally, Campbell County Memorial Health's maternal child depart- ment was accepting patients on a case-by-case basis. An Oct. 7 update from the hospital indicated clinics, lab and radiology were functioning as usual and rescheduling missed appointments. Respiratory therapy services was still closed to oupatients, and the sleep center remained closed to all patients. n

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