Innovation versus invention

Striving for an industry transformation to make healthcare more accessible, affordable, and sustainable for all

The global healthcare industry is rapidly changing.

It was no surprise, then, to see the theme of this year’s World Healthcare Forum, “Shaping The Future of Healthcare,” was reflective of these disruptions. The event was held November 28–29 in the The Hague.

Industry leaders and healthcare professionals from across the globe came together, sharing insights and best practices to allow for the creation of more accessible, affordable, and sustainable healthcare. There were subject-specific breakout sessions, as well as plenary sessions, which brought everyone together.

Innovation was woven into the fabric of each session, including new technologies, new offerings, and new business models.

I gave the closing keynote entitled — and based on — our popular blog post “Act Like a Child.” In parallel to many of the points made in the post, my keynote examined how to reimagine healthcare by simply asking more questions — being customer-centric, exploring new technology trends, tapping new user habits (such as mobile platforms), and uncovering new value expectations of patients.

Most specifically, I discussed the importance of transforming the industry to become question-centric, placing value on innovation-driven approaches to problems, in addition to those that are research-focused and driven by breakthrough product inventions.

GE Healthcare innovates with GE Adventures, reimagining the MRI experience in children’s hospitals around the world.

GE Adventures is a great example of innovation versus invention. For the project, the GE Healthcare team reimagined the children’s MRI—a traditionally traumatic experience—without touching the product — the MRI machine itself.

By making observations (and, of course, asking questions), the team successfully designed an immersive experience for young patients, which starts at home the night before the MRI appointment and finishes when the child leaves the hospital.

Hospital staff often hear children asking a question upon the conclusion of their appointment: “When can I come back?”

The result of the GE Adventures project has resulted in lower costs per customer at hospitals, increased productivity and throughput for MRIs, higher parent satisfaction, and a complete transformation of what had been a frightening experience for kids.

Such customer-centric innovations will significantly impact the accessibility, affordability, and sustainability of healthcare in the decades to come.

So I call upon all physicians, nurses, hospitals, patients, researchers, pharmaceutical companies, device manufacturers, technologists, politicians, and entrepreneurs to join forces in unlocking the untapped value of healthcare.

How?

By asking more questions.

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Contributing editor: Adam Kohut