Balancing Innovation and Delivery

The term healthcare innovation suggests a range of exciting possibilities from disruptive technologies and unconventional delivery models to alternative payment models and nontraditional partnerships. Although such prospects are enticing, however, innovation also can create serious challenges when it is not managed well. Innovation may not require significant resources, but it always requires significant attention. Many healthcare leadership teams have found it difficult to focus on their future vision while keeping their eye on current needs.

For hospital leaders, the risk is losing sight of the mission of care delivery. When one devotes significant attention to building the innovative systems of tomorrow, it is easy to neglect the thousands of operational details that underpin patient care today. The key to balancing the promise of healthcare innovation with the demands of healthcare delivery is to maintain a strong focus on outcomes. The most successful healthcare innovators are adept at balancing transformational change with incremental improvement in a way that ensures steady progress.