Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1468176
35 INNOVATION How hospitals can be a 'laboratory' for innovation By Naomi Diaz H ospitals should formalize their strategy, define what inno- vation looks like and encour- age clinicians to think outside of the box as they pursue innovation. Here, four hospital chief innovation officers share strategies on how to create a pro-innovation environment. Editor's note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length. Thomas Graham, MD. Chief Inno- vation & Transformation Officer of Kettering Health (Dayton, Ohio). This salient question makes hospitals and systems consider whether they have the aptitude and attitude for in- novation. It all starts with establishing your institution's definition of "inno- vation" and making sure it reflects the inherent mission and capacity of the organization, then make innovation an enterprise imperative by recognizing and rewarding the creative culture. Also, practice innovation as a pro- cess-oriented, metrics-driven disci- pline and recognize and celebrate innovation and innovators through structured events, awards and deploy- ment of resources. Let your hospital be a "laboratory" to try new things — whether organic or reaching the or- ganization from the outside, invest in innovation — whether it's time, C-suite support or dollars, back innovation initiatives and send the message that "fast frugal failure" is acceptable. Jonathan Griffin, MD. Chief Medi- cal Innovation Officer at St. Peter's Health (Chicago). From my perspec- tive, effective innovation starts with a well-sponsored plan, purpose, vision and goals. A well-vetted plan with clinical leads, board and executive support is a critical starting point. Innovation also necessitates dedi- cated time and resources focused on developing your selected inno- vation projects. I have found that there is a balance to strike between incremental continuous improve- ment, standardization of processes, and step-change innovations for our teams, patients and the community. People engagement and effective change management with teams are also clutch to shift gears using a fun, crawl, walk, run implementation ap- proach for innovation. It feels good to successfully imple- ment projects. But the end note for me is pressing forward through hard times, the failures and the flops, push- ing through to find joy in new things that innovate my purpose in life in re- lation to my work. Barry Stein, MD. Chief Clinical Inno- vation Officer at Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare. To promote innovation you first need to help your organization understand what innovation means and give people the "why" behind it. Keep it simple such as innovation is a simple equation of idea x execution. Help clinicians think about innovation as entrepreneurs. At Hartford Health- Care we bring in startups and match them with clinical mentors. We do this so clinicians can work with entrepre- neurs who have a different perspec- tive than them. This allows them to think about innovation differently. The last piece is alignment. If innova- tion is to be taken seriously, the lan- guage, the whys and the support need to come from the very top, the CEO. Christopher Coburn. Chief In- novation Officer of Mass Gen- eral Brigham (Boston). Investing in bold, transformative innovation is a growth pillar of Mass General Brigham. This cultural and operation- al commitment to spark innovation from everywhere in the organization and cultivate research that's directly led by clinicians who are providing the care, puts the patient front and center of everything we do. To further innovation for the com- munities we serve, we're developing programs around diversity, engage- ment and inclusiveness specific to the innovator community at Mass General Brigham. We believe we need to bring the same level of cre- ativity and resourcefulness to our efforts to aid and enable the faculty that we hope will bring and create new innovations. n Advocate Aurora acquires remote-monitoring company By Katie Adams A dvocate Aurora Health acquired MobileHelp, a company specializing in remote patient monitoring and personal emergency response systems. The health system, which has dual headquarters in Milwau- kee and Downers Grove, Ill., made the acquisition through its investment arm, Advocate Aurora Enterprises, according to an April 4 news release. The acquisition marks Advocate Aurora Enterprises' fourth transaction. MobileHelp's emergency response systems, which are used by more than 300,000 households, rack users' locations so assistance can reach them quicker. In the future, Advocate Aurora Enterprises said it may bundle the technology with Senior Helpers, an in-home personal care services com- pany it acquired in 2021, as doing so "could offer an even higher level of support to those aging independently." "The future of healthcare includes using innovative technol- ogy to help consumers take better control of their health," Advocate Aurora Health CEO Jim Skogsbergh said in the release. "The addition of MobileHelp underscores our ded- ication to investing in solutions that are complementary to our clinical offerings, advancing whole person health and our purpose of helping people live well." n