What do you do if your healthcare system is struggling to find a balance between innovation and stability?

2 Engage your users

One of the key factors for successful innovation is user engagement. You need to involve your patients, staff, and partners in the design, implementation, and evaluation of your innovation. User engagement can help you understand their needs, preferences, and feedback, as well as generate buy-in and ownership. You can use various methods to engage your users, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, co-creation workshops, and pilot testing. User engagement can also help you foster a culture of innovation and collaboration in your system.

3 Adapt to your context

No two healthcare systems are the same, and neither are their innovation needs and challenges. You need to adapt your innovation to your specific context, rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach. This means considering the political, economic, social, and cultural factors that influence your system, as well as the local regulations, policies, and standards. You also need to monitor and evaluate your innovation outcomes and impacts, and adjust your strategies and actions accordingly. Adaptation can help you optimize your innovation value and sustainability.

4 Learn from others

You don't have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to innovation. You can learn from other healthcare systems that have implemented similar or relevant innovations, and benefit from their experiences and lessons. You can use various sources to access and share knowledge, such as publications, databases, networks, and communities of practice. You can also collaborate with other systems to exchange ideas, insights, and best practices. Learning from others can help you avoid common pitfalls and leverage existing solutions.

5 Balance your portfolio

Innovation is not a single event, but a continuous process that requires a portfolio of initiatives. You need to balance your portfolio between short-term and long-term, incremental and radical, and proven and experimental innovations. You also need to balance your portfolio between different types and levels of innovation, such as product, process, service, and system innovation. A balanced portfolio can help you diversify your risks and opportunities, and achieve both immediate and long-term results.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?