Innovation in Healthcare and Senior Living Requires an Eye Toward the Future

Infrastructure upgrades and a commitment to disruption are key to successful endeavors.

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Ryan has been a magazine and newspaper editor for 21 years, with the last 15 covering a variety of bases for CDW’s family of tech magazines. As Editor in Chief, he works on developing editorial strategy and is always on the lookout for new writing talent and sharing great stories with the IT world. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys spending time with his family, biking and obsessively following Iowa Hawkeye sports and Cubs baseball.

Many stakeholders in healthcare believe that disruptive innovation to the industry will come from outsiders. In a recent survey published by NEJM Catalyst, a majority of executives, clinical leaders and health IT vendors say the most promising new entrants to healthcare are likely to be startups.

But that doesn’t mean innovation isn’t occurring at large provider organizations — some even lead the way, buoyed by strong infrastructure setups.

At the Mayo Clinic’s Center for Individualized Medicine in Rochester, Minn., IT staffers developed a genomic data warehouse and workflow management system that will serve as a foundation for building tools and interfaces to support both clinicians and researchers in advancing individualized patient care.

Mathieu Wiepert, the IT unit lead for the Center’s staff, says their tools help Mayo take an “agile approach” to precision medicine that allows for constant communication and flexibility among stakeholders.

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Chief Innovation Officer Rasu Shrestha tells HealthTech that success for provider organizations is “a fun and universal goal, but it’s often preceded by failure or false starts.” If possible, he says, organizations should create safe spaces where innovation can take place.

The Thrive Center Promises a Showcase for Innovation

Meanwhile, at the recently opened Thrive Center in Louisville, Ky., startups and established technology companies alike showcase innovations for the senior care industry. The center aims to help senior care facilities with their technology deployment decisions.

The nonprofit facility features a mix of foundational tools, like HPE Aruba Wi-Fi, and inventive offerings, such as smart sensors from Samsung, wearables from Piper and virtual reality tools from appliedVR.

Innovation in healthcare and senior care requires a commitment to disruption, as well as the proper infrastructure. By setting the stage for change, organizations take an important step toward the future of care.