Health Technological Innovation Basics Flashcards
Definitions:
- Technology
- Innovation
- Technological Innovation
- Technology def
Products made by humans that make our lives easier and more comfortable
Ideas and processes that make it possible to produce such products - Innovation
denotes new, better, more effective ways of solving problems.
adopted from the business, technology, and marketing industries,
the term has been used to describe policies, systems
technologies, ideas, services, and products that provide solutions
to existing healthcare problems.
A clear definition is necessary because lack of consensus acts as a barrier
to bring innovation to clinical practice.
Novelty, application component and an intended benefit (New, applicable and benefit to humans) - Technological Innovation
New, better, more effective ways of solving problems
A new idea, device, or method
The act, or process of introducing new ideas, devices, or methods
In health care, the term means to describe policies, systems, technologies, ideas, services, and products that provide solutions to existing health care problems.
A new and applicable whole complex of knowledge, skills, routines, competence, equipment,and engineering practice, that is somehow beneficial to humans
What is a Health Technology according to WHO?
Some characteristics and its role?
Priority Areas
A health technology is the application of organised knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines vaccines, procedures and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of lives Concerns both hard and soft technology Evolves over time Is shaped by social construction Is adapted to specific conditions
Types of innovations?
Process innovations→ Enhancements of production of services, the equipment, methods, systems used by producers of products or services
Product innovations→ Tangible physical object
Social innovation –> New approaches to tackle social issues and solve problems
Health innovation –> New mechanisms to improve population health
What are Features of Technology?
Hard technology - tangible products
Soft technology - intangible, knowledge on how hard technology is
Social construct - people, private organisations and public institutions, interact and jointly construct technology to meet their goals and needs
Technology determinism - e.g once it has started it may not be easy to reverse it
+/- effects of Technology
(+)
Useful in achieving your goals
Takes over routine monotonous tasks
Makes our life more comfortable
Makes complex tasks easier
Creates value for users and society
(-)
Offers “lazy aids” which contribute to obesity
Too much use of technology has resulted in waste
Environmental pollution due to technology
Creates stress if not used properly
What are innovation characteristics?
New idea - New product, princess, service, business
Exploitable - Implementable and valuable idea
Successful - Adopted by the targeted audience
What are Health technological innovations and EU competencies?
- EU legislation and regulation on pharma policies and pharmaceutical innovation, namely clinical trials
- The General Data Protection Regulation in the EU, and also focusing on electronic patients’ records for data analysis
- EU legislation and the debates in the area of medical devices, e. G the question of involving health consumers, providers and decision-makers in the design of new medical devices
- Stakeholders in the area of health technological innovation in the EU, EU institutions
What is the role of EU in digital public health?
European Commission→ Citizen secure access to secure data,
Frameworks:
1. The European Commission published key policy documents which give clear direction
to EU activities to support the digital Transformation of Health and Care for the coming years
The EU Communication on Digital Transformation of Health and Care in the Digital Single Market
identifies three priorities:
1. Citizens’ secure access to their health data, across the EU
2. Personalized medicine through shared European data infrastructure
3. Citizen empowerment with digital tools for user feedback and person-centered care.
2. EU level, the eHealth Network, created under article 14 of Directive 2011/24/EU set up standards for interoperability of electronic health systems and eHealth use between Member States
- Digital Health Index→ How ready countries are for Digital Health (How far they are developed, infrastructure)
- EUPHA: digital section, digitalization as a tool for providing better care and prevention
What are the Challenges and benefits for the future in PH
1. Pros Usefulness Value added Comfort Simplifying tasks 2. Cons Applicable (need of demand and supply) Data privacy Sustainability Stressful use Lack of access or education on innovations Cost effectiveness Risk of over-digitalization (relying too much on it) Research is still a challenge Risk of sedentary lifestyle development
Goals of PH→ quality, accessibility, efficiency and equity
(Odone) Features of digital solution→ personalization and precision, automation, prediction, data analytics, interaction
Patients empowerment→ Actively involved in your own health and its management, more flexibility and not completely dependent on doctors
Shift in PH→ From curing to preventing
What are some reasons why innovation processes in healthcare might be different from other sectors?
Healthcare is a system and it is very complex — there are many organisations involved, with many professional and financial silos and entrenched cultures.
Healthcare is always evolving because of constant change in its underly-ing science and the development of new technologies, and because policy-makers like to tinker with its funding and institutional arrangements.
Healthcare is heavily regulated — ‘taking a risk’ by trying out something new does not necessarily go down well with healthcare managers, politi-cians or patients.
Healthcare is usually highly politicised — for instance we may know that the most rational option to improve services might be to close a hospital or hospital department that is no longer needed, but this is almost guaran-teed to result in angry voters and anxious politicians
Mitcham (1994) technology has four dimensions:
knowledge, activity, objects and volition.
Types of knowledge
- Explicit knowledge - can be readily articulated, codified and accessed
- Tacit knowledge - is the opposite of explicit knowledge; it cannot be ade-quately articulated by verbal means
- Codified knowledge - is tacit knowledge converted to explicit knowledge in a usable form
- Embodied knowledge - is the routines, habits, tasks, and information we understand without conscious thought
- Situated knowledge - is knowledge affected by the history, language, and values of the person knowing it.
Distinctive features of healthcare that influence its innovation processes
The nature of healthcare ‘technology’ and ‘innovation’
A risk-averse culture and extensive regulation
The economics and politics of healthcare
The environment into which new technologies and other innovations are adopted and implemented is often extremely complex
We need a clearer definition of innovation because
On one hand, a general definition allows for praise and recognition of positive developments and new ideas, methods, and products in the field of healthcare.
On the other hand, without a concrete understanding of what innovation is, we are unable to develop and properly identify new innovations in healthcare
The three components of innovation, as suggested by Länsisalmi et al. are: that innovation is
i) a novelty,
ii) an application component
iii) an intended benefit.
