Efforts to accelerate the innovation of health information technology (IT) products need long-term collaboration between developers and users, transformation of care processes in tandem with IT tools, and development of new funding models.
Accelerating Innovation in Health IT
Published in: The New England Journal of Medicine, v. 375, no. 9, Sep. 2016, p. 815-817
Posted on RAND.org on September 19, 2016
Research Question
- What can be done to smooth the way for more innovation in health information technology (IT)?
Efforts to accelerate the innovation of health information technology (IT) products need long-term collaboration between developers and users, transformation of care processes in tandem with IT tools, and development of new funding models.
Key Findings
- Multidisciplinary teams of developers (employees of IT firms, researchers, entrepreneurs) and users (clinicians, patients with different medical conditions) could give each other the various perspectives needed to create sustainable solutions.
- Developing a thorough understanding of diverse patient and clinician needs through direct interaction is an investment that is critical to success.
- Health IT innovation and clinical care redesign must happen in tandem.
- Innovation "sandboxes" in which developers could test and learn from initial solutions would systematically provide in-depth feedback.
- An innovation program will require new models for funding.
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