Why Innovation in Health Care Is So Hard, Essay Example

It is challenging to forecast the impact of trends on the future of health care delivery in the United States for several reasons. As the current evolution of technology and scientific understanding has indicated, it is challenging to predict what we will learn about health in addition to the devices we will develop to meet growing health concerns. In addition, we cannot be certain that we will be able to keep up with changing health threats because we cannot be certain about changing public health trends, in addition to the evolution of bacteria and viruses that cause common illnesses. Furthermore, we cannot be certain of the mistakes or purposeful discoveries that will be made within healthcare or other fields that will hold medical applications.

Overall, it is challenging to structure scientific inquiry in a manner that balances order and chaos. Some organizations prefer to engage in continuous innovation, which is sporadic in nature. Even when experimentation is constant, it is important to consider that simply conducting an experiment will not ensure its success. Failures are responsible for contributing to progress just as significantly as positive results, but more failures means that progress will take a longer time as a whole. Since we cannot accurately predict how many times an experiment will fail before it produces a meaningful result, we cannot reasonably determine the impact that these trends will have on health care delivery.

A beneficial forecasting method is the identification of trends in past data. While it is challenging to predict the exact information that will be gained using this method, it is possible to estimate a rate of progress. An additional way to forecast experimental progress is to interview an expert in the field. Since these individuals regularly read newly published literature, they are aware of the qualitative aspect of progress and can draw from their personal experiences to explain how they believe their own work and the work of their colleagues is progressing.

Question 2

There are several forces that are expected to impact health care delivery in the next 5 years. In particular, these forces involve interactions between people and their individual motivations, funding for experimental research, legal policies, the quality of existing technology, and the wants and needs of consumers. Furthermore, accountability to these forces is a necessary consideration.

Currently, changes in health care are due to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. However, it is expected that this legislation will allow politicians and health professionals to gain a better understanding of actions that need to be taken to further improve the health care system. Therefore, in the next five years, it is likely that additional reform will be put into place in a manner that rectifies the existing problems with the Affordable Care Act. In addition, current health care costs are increasing rapidly due to the implementation of new technology in many medical facilities. However, as this technology becomes normalized in care, it is likely that these health care costs will stabilize and become more affordable for members of the general public. This is especially likely due to the connections between cost and health insurance accessibility under the Affordable Care Act. This demonstrates that many of the forces that are expected to impact health care delivery in the near future are connected.

Last, it is important to note that despite the changing affordability and availability of health care, there will continue to be a two or three tier health system that will enable individuals with high quality insurance to access better care than those with lower quality insurance. This appears to be a product of the growing costs of medical technology and will hopefully be addressed by health care legislation in the future. As a consequence it is expected that the total number of hospital beds available will decrease. However, to support quality improvement efforts, it is expected that electronic health records will be used more and additional resources will be invested in primary care.

Question 3

The six forces affecting innovation include people and their individual motivations, funding for experimental research, legal policies, the quality of existing technology, the wants and needs of consumers, and accountability. The individual motivations of people pertains to the stakeholders in this situation. Companies must determine how they will gain profit and these methods must be diversified to meet the needs of the public. Furthermore, since the return on investment is not easily predicted, the amount of funding available for projects is an important factor. Customers will only pay for proven interventions, so it is important for the development teams to determine how to fund these projects in a manner that will create profit. Policy comes into play as well, because the legal requirements that must be met for technological and medical development are often expensive to follow. As these requirements change, businesses need to alter their practices as well.

Technology is an important consideration because although the stakeholders are expected to contribute to technological development, the technology that already exists can contribute to the development process. Furthermore, new development will improve patient quality of care. The relationship between the health sector and consumers, however, is somewhat challenging. While innovators intend to create products for patients, the patients are not always the direct consumers. As a consequence, there is often more concern about profit than there is concern for the welfare of patients. While these products are being created with the patient in mind, this is not the only incentive for product development. Last, it is important to consider that people responsible for each driving force are expected to be accountable for their actions and decisions, which is not always the case. However, the degree to which ethics are followed impacts innovation as well.

As an executive of a health system, I would best be able to innovate with regards to the accountability aspect of practice. It is possible for health care administrators to implement many policies and regulations that will modify the business aspect of the hospital in addition to the provision of patient care. Overall, it is expected that this accountability will contribute to the implementation of only safe and effective treatments in addition to cost effective care. Since the administrator is able to bargain with technology companies, it is important for him or her to make these standards of ethics clear. Since many organizations wish to work with large institutions, the administrator can advocate on the behalf of patients and work towards improving the quality of patient care while taking steps to ensure that care will be affordable for all patients as well.

References

Herzlinger RE. (2006). Why Innovation in Health Care is So Hard. Harvard Business Review, 1-10.