The Doctor Weighs In

Disruptive innovations are new technologies, processes, or business models that blow status quo products out of the water and, eventually, replace them entirely. Here are some examples:

• Automobiles replaced horses

• Semiconductors replaced vacuum tubes

• Digital cameras are in the process of replacing film cameras

Lord knows we could use a big dose of disruptive innovation in health care. Most of us are still getting care in a delivery model that is more than 50 years old. And many of us would say it no longer works well.

"Minute Clinics" are often cited as an example of a disruptive innovation in health care, although these retail-based, nurse practitioner run urgent care clinics still have a long way to go before they replace the more traditional office visit, urgent care center, or emergency department as the place to get minor ailments treated.  Nevertheless, their rapid uptake are an indication that health care is ripe for change.

More and more people are unhappy with, unable to access, or can’t afford medical care as usual. That is why I was delighted to learn about a competition being sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Changemakers.net, an initiative of Ashoka, an organization that describes itself as “Innovators for the Public.”

The competition is titled "Disruptive Innovations in Health and Health Care: Solutions People Want." It is  seeking “new products, technologies, services, delivery systems, business models -- or some combination thereof -- that help consumers to better manage their health and health care.” By better they mean, in ways that are more affordable, accessible, simple and convenient – all issues that sorely need addressing in the current health care “system.”

The application process, like the competition itself, is innovative. You go to a section called “Mosaic of Solutions” to determine what types of barriers to care and innovative strategies are likely to lead to disruption. The suggested barriers in the Mosaic for health care are the following:

• Health care is not consumer friendly (you can say that again!)

• Patients are not empowered • Medicine is complex and expensive

• There are monopolies of knowledge (although the internet revolution is starting to change this)

The healthcare Mosaic lists the following innovative strategies or insights:

• Democratize access

• Simplify through technologies

• Center the consumer in the business model

• Work down the chain of command (for example, help mothers of kids with cerebral palsy get licensed as in-home providers)

The application is filled out and posted online. Readers, including your competition, can then comment on and make suggestions to improve your application. After about 11 weeks, three judges will select 12 finalists. Over the ensuing 2 weeks, the Changemakers community will vote for 3 winners.

Each winner will receive $5,000 -- not much in the Trillion Dollar world of health care, but the winners will also be eligible for additional funding from Robert Wood Johnson. The Foundation has pledged to provide up to $5 million to fund disruptive innovations in health and health care in the United States that show potential to grow and make a large scale impact.

So if you have a great little idea and want to make it a great big product, think about entering this competition. If you are discouraged by the status quo in health care and  just want some inspiration, then bookmark this website and check in periodically to learn what the innovators are up to.

This competition promises to be informative and fun.

Pat Salber, MD