Healthcare Innovated: Uncertainty, Risk and the Importance of Collaboration
Jodie Granger
Executive Advisor | Healthcare | Innovation | Strategy | Growth | Adaptive Change | Digital | Design Thinking | Advisory - Talks about #Innovation, #Healthcare, #Strategy, #HealthcareInnovated, and #adaptiveleadership
Welcome to this edition of our newsletter. We're excited to explore some of the most pivotal topics in healthcare innovation and private healthcare collaboration.
In this issue, we tackle the complexities of risk and uncertainty in innovation and offer effective strategies to manage them. We include a video interview where I discuss corporate innovation and the keys to success. Additionally, we are advocating for a new collaborative model in Australian private healthcare.
Lastly, don't miss our spotlight on the upcoming 2024 Private Health Australia Conference.
In this edition
Recognising Innovation: Why Assessing Risk and Uncertainty is Key
When launching a new initiative, one of the most important steps is determining whether it falls under traditional business improvements or true innovation. This distinction matters because initiatives with a high degree of uncertainty, like those in the Innovation Zone (as shown in the Risk and Uncertainty Matrix), require a fundamentally different approach. Traditional methods won’t work for challenges where uncertainty is high, and understanding this difference early can save significant resources and effort.
Understanding and Assessing Innovation – An Adaptive Challenge.
Innovation is not just a technical fix—it’s an adaptive challenge. Adaptive challenges require key mindset and behavioural shifts, such as:
Embracing Discomfort and Redefining Traditional Approaches
To truly innovate, it's important to embrace discomfort and move away from traditional project management constraints, which often focus on predefined scopes and extensive early-stage planning. Here’s how to approach innovation differently:
Iterative Discovery: Begin with a phase of exploration without the pressure of defining a rigid scope. This allows for creative thinking and the discovery of diverse options.
Minimal Viable Teams: Instead of hiring extensive project teams initially, start with small, cross-functional teams that can pivot quickly and adapt to new insights.
Exploration Phase: The exploration and ideation phase are critical to fully understand the problem space. Resist the urge to rush into development without adequate understanding.
Flexible Milestones: Set flexible milestones that allow for course corrections. These should be designed to adapt based on learnings rather than adhering to fixed deadlines.
Early Prototyping: Focus on rapid prototyping to test ideas quickly. This helps in gathering early feedback and iterating based on real-world insights rather than assumptions.
Cultural Readiness: Prepare organisational culture for ambiguity. Encourage a mindset where team members feel safe to experiment and fail forward.
Lean Approach: Adopt a lean approach to innovation, where the primary focus is on creating value through continuous improvement and customer feedback loops.
Treating innovation differently from traditional project management (important for the business case zone) is crucial for navigating high uncertainty and fostering creative solutions. By embracing discomfort, delaying rigid scopes, and focusing on iterative discovery, organisations can create a conducive environment for genuine innovation.
Innovation Insider: Unlocking Corporate Innovation with Jodie Granger: The ABCs of Success
I was recently interview by David Worldon of Accelerated Innovation. I have included the full recording below, however I have also included just a few minutes where I discuss why it is important to understand and identify innovation uncertainty from the outset.
Recommended by LinkedIn
Please find a few minute excerpt here - Watch Here
Bridging Perspectives: A Call for Collaboration in Australian Private Healthcare
With nearly two decades of experience in both private health insurance and healthcare provision, I've observed firsthand the challenges and unique perspectives shaping the relationship between these critical sectors. Sometimes, publicly aired contract disputes overshadow a key reality: both insurers and providers are deeply committed to the health and wellbeing of their members and patients.
Shared Commitment to Patients
It's important to recognise that beneath the surface of contractual disputes, both insurers and providers are genuinely concerned about patient welfare. Insurers, with their more corporate approach, harness data-driven insights and international best practices to innovate and enhance healthcare delivery. Their ability to invest in such advancements often surpasses that of provider groups, who are focused on the operational aspects of staffing and maintaining high clinical standards amid tight financial constraints.
The Need for Collaboration
Both insurers and providers play essential roles within our healthcare ecosystem. Insurers bring strategic innovation and operational efficiency, complementing providers' absolute dedication to clinical excellence and patient care. Achieving a harmonious balance between these roles requires a more collaborative approach—one that aligns incentives, fosters mutual understanding, and integrates the strengths of both sectors.
Embracing Innovation
Clayton Christensen's insights from ‘The Innovator’s Prescription’ focuses on integrated healthcare presenting a compelling way forward. By breaking down silos and promoting collaboration among insurers, providers, and other stakeholders, integrated healthcare models can help harmonise conflicting priorities. This approach not only enhances care coordination and patient outcomes but also fosters a sustainable healthcare system capable of meeting future challenges.
A new paradigm required?
As Australia navigates its complex healthcare landscape, now is the time for a paradigm shift. We need to recognise the valuable contributions of both insurers and providers while embracing a shared vision of integrated healthcare. By leveraging innovation, data-driven practices, and a commitment to patient-centric care, we can bridge existing divides and build an equitable and effective private healthcare system for Australians.
The path to a more collaborative healthcare future lies in recognising and respecting the unique roles that insurers and providers play. Collaboratively, we can build a healthcare system that addresses today's needs but is also prepared for the challenges of our forthcoming aging population.
2024 Private Health Australia Conference
No doubt much of the current state of relations will be hotly discussed at the private health Australia conference. I went last year and it was a great conference full of interesting health futures to consider. Details are below.
Healthcare for the empowered consumer: navigating fact from fiction amid the cost-of-living crisis
15-16 October 2024 The InterContinental Hotel, Sydney In-person event
Private Healthcare Australia’s 2024 Conference – Healthcare for the empowered consumer: navigating fact from fiction amid the cost-of-living crisis will take place on 15-16th October 2024 at The InterContinental Hotel, Sydney.
The conference will bring together leading experts to discuss the ways the healthcare sector can support and empower consumers to determine health facts from health fiction, in the face of increasingly sophisticated disinformation, scams and tech advancements, and cost-of-living pressures.
Speakers will discuss topics such as the different ways consumers can be better informed to manage their healthcare, shining a spotlight on the current problems surrounding overdiagnoses and misdiagnoses, and how health funds can support their members to live healthy lives.
With a diverse range of speakers and attendees from across Australia, our 2024 conference, Healthcare for the empowered consumer will be an insightful and engaging event for industry professionals committed to a dynamic and effective Australian private healthcare sector.