The Essentials of Healthcare Innovation

When the winds of change blow, some people build walls, others build windmills. This Chinese proverb reminds us that crises present choices. Those choices, in turn, shape organizations’ future growth paths.

Over the past year, the healthcare sector experienced dramatic change, with novel business models, unexpected collaborations, and accelerated timelines requiring organizations to rethink how they operate. Many of these shifts are likely to persist.

The healthcare sector has long been a laggard in digital adoption, but the pandemic delivered a massive jolt of urgency to embrace new tools and technologies. Providers rapidly scaled offerings and were seeing 50 to 175 times the number of patients via telehealth a few months into the pandemic compared with what they did before. Providers have also more broadly embraced digital engagement with patients and communities, such as proactively messaging about COVID-19-related protocols.