Healthcare sector’s major challenge:
Increasing patient expectations – limited funds.
The ability to innovate is vital to meet patients’ growing expectations – and to meet them with same or fewer resources
Expectations of patients and hospital managements can only be achieved in hospitals where there is a will to leadership at all levels. In 2006 the management at one of Denmark’s largest hospitals made us aware that the hospital sector has an unmet need for competence and lack of IT-systems that ensure systematic approaches and management of creativity in the thousands of projects initiated in our hospitals every year. Our Innovation and Management System, created in collaboration with the hospital’s own physicians and professional staff is a qualified answer to this challenge.
The increasing demands on hospitals is illustrated by these six points:
From silos to coherent patient courses
There is a need to create professional integration across departments. A strong and professional project management culture is prerequisite for development and implementation of ideas coherent patient courses.
The patients’ free choice of hospital
Hospitals compete for patients. Competitiveness is closely related to innovation capability. Hospitals need structure and professionalism for the channeling of creativity and commitment to leadership at all levels. There must be visible coherence from long-term goals all the way to initiated projects.
Recruitment and quality of education & training
Hospitals’ recruitment base must be strengthened – especially in remote locations. Strong academic environments attract young candidates. Research and development competence is an important component in attracting the best professionals and the talent which is a prerequisite to maintain the high level.
Quality improvement by deployed project competences
Accreditation exposes each departments’ need for improvement. Significant improvements require project work and multidisciplined issues requires coherent and interdisciplinary project work.
Evidence-based treatment and care
The research active staff also has operational responsibilities.. They therefore need a shorter and simpler way to start and complete research projects. Research professors and supervisors are limited resources and need rational IT-tools for easy project involvement and contribution.
The battles to be appointed to do highly specialized treatment – are won in the “gym”
Appointment of highly specialised treatments is based on patient volume, professional standards and geographical location. Research and development is a prerequisite for creating new knowledge, but also to critically assimilate and exploit others’ research results.
The challenges involve all levels of management, from individual, project, department, hospital, region and nation. There is a need for structure and professionalism for the channeling of creativity and commitment to leadership at all levels. Our combined IT-systems and skills are directed towards this need.
