By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    What Are the Benefits of CBD?
    November 27, 2021
    How to Measure Adult Diapers- The Ultimate Guide to Picking the Right Size
    March 8, 2022
    medicine cabinet
    The Effect Of Finished Dosage Form Manufacturing In New Drugs
    July 5, 2022
    Latest News
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
    The Hidden Impact Of Stress On Your Body’s Alignment And Balance
    May 22, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Tooth Decay Marielaina Perrone DDS
    Is Your Child’s Education Affected By Tooth Decay?
    December 13, 2012
    Image
    Millions of Americans Could Lose ACA Subsidies
    July 21, 2014
    Image
    IVF: The Three Biggest Myths
    March 22, 2013
    Latest News
    When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
    June 20, 2025
    Preventing Contamination In Healthcare Facilities Starts With Hygiene
    June 15, 2025
    Strengthening Healthcare Systems Through Clinical and Administrative Career Development
    June 13, 2025
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Two Types of Innovation: What is the Right Balance?
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Technology > Medical Innovations > Two Types of Innovation: What is the Right Balance?
Medical Innovations

Two Types of Innovation: What is the Right Balance?

JosephKvedar
Last updated: December 18, 2012 8:24 am
JosephKvedar
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE

I recently coined a phrase while talking to our senior leadership at Partners HealthCare.  I told them that we aspire to bring them “innovations they don’t yet know they need.”  Folks at the Center like this, especially those that are primarily focused on innovation.  They feel that it defines us as cutting edge.  And you know I would not put forth such an aspirational goal if I did not have evidence we could achieve it.

I recently coined a phrase while talking to our senior leadership at Partners HealthCare.  I told them that we aspire to bring them “innovations they don’t yet know they need.”  Folks at the Center like this, especially those that are primarily focused on innovation.  They feel that it defines us as cutting edge.  And you know I would not put forth such an aspirational goal if I did not have evidence we could achieve it.

Let’s talk about innovation for a moment. In the early part of the last decade, Microsoft and its hardware partners released a series of products called Tablet PCs.  They were trendy for a year or two but then withered away, to be replaced by newer fads such as Netbooks and the like.  Tablet PCs failed because the technology was not really portable – they were too heavy to fulfill many of the use cases for slate type devices, and in retrospect, they were poorly designed.  So in 2009, when Apple was preparing its launch of the iPad, if they had gone to consumers and asked them about their interest in another Tablet PC, chances are they would have gotten a tepid response. In fact, Steve Jobs was quoted as saying they did not do any consumer research for the iPad because, “We don’t expect consumers to really know what they want.”  By envisioning the tablet as a large iPod Touch, Apple revolutionized the concept.  They brought us an innovation we did not know we needed.   Another, more mundane example of this is the story of the Post it Note.  That product failed in early consumer focus groups because it was viewed as a not-very-sticky glue.

At the Center for Connected Health, we’ve delivered a few innovations of that type.  We started working on telemonitoring for congestive heart failure (CHF) in 2002 (a collaboration with Partners HealthCare at Home) and were met with derision from conventional medicine.  Fast-forward to 2012 and that program is now in mainstream use for our high-risk patients with CHF.  In 2005, we conceived of a need to streamline home vital sign monitoring for chronic illness.  That lead to the creation of our Remote Monitoring Data Repository (RMDR) and more recently, the infrastructure that facilitates the integration of home monitored vital signs into our electronic medical record.  Both of these milestones show the value of early-stage innovation, or innovation that Partners “did not yet know they needed.”

More Read

mHealth Summit Conference 2011: Thoughts and Takeaways
Innovative Ways for Older Americans to be Never too Old to Play
What Is Functional Medicine? An Absolute Beginner’s Guide
The Top 10 Healthcare Innovations of 2012. How Well Did They Do?
Drawing an Infographic Line on Healthcare’s Future

Looking back on these examples, it’s tempting to focus our whole team on this type of innovation.  But, I don’t think that is a good idea.  The flip side of the coin is interacting with and listening to customers.  People who pay you to do work are a critical part of the innovation feedback loop.  History has many stories of people who were far ahead of their time and died destitute.  They are praised in the history books but ostracized while on earth.

We have innovation going on in our Center that is in response to customer needs.  Much of our work in text messaging for reminders and education falls in this category.  Programs such as OB Connect were developed in collaboration with both pregnant women and midwifes and continue to thrive in our provider environment.  We also have a large Collaborative Media Group that acts as a resource to physicians at our hospitals who wish to engage in more traditional telehealth activities, such as remote consultations and home video visits.  Are these efforts as glamorous as innovating out of whole cloth with an eye towards utility 5-7 years out?

That is really not the relevant question. The relevant question for us is how to best be of service to Partners HealthCare System as we move into the exciting new world of provider-payer risk sharing, a care model that is ideally suited for connected health to thrive.

So we must do both the type of innovations that people don’t yet know they need and the type that is born from creating products and services that customers ask for and are refined by customer feedback.

The question I’m pondering now is what is the ideal mix of these two strategies.

I’d be delighted to get your thoughts on any of this.

 

Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

recovering from injury
Rebuilding After Injury: Path to Physical and Emotional Recovery
News
June 22, 2025
scientist using microscope
When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
Global Healthcare
June 18, 2025
How Therapy Can Improve Your Mental Health and Daily Life
How Therapy Can Improve Your Mental Health and Daily Life
Mental Health
June 18, 2025
healthcare facilities
Preventing Contamination In Healthcare Facilities Starts With Hygiene
Global Healthcare Infographics
June 15, 2025

You Might also Like

A Virtual Nurse for Hospital Discharge

November 2, 2011
biopharma beat
BusinessDiagnosticseHealthMedical DevicesMedical InnovationsMobile HealthRemote DiagnosticsTechnologyWellness

BioPharma Beat: The Uberization of Healthcare – A Silly Extrapolation

March 3, 2015
apple siri
eHealthMedical InnovationsSocial MediaTechnology

Siri, Marry Me! and Other Tales from the Technology Frontier

November 6, 2014

Mobile Medical Device Connects OR to Content and Reps

September 6, 2013
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?