Life on Marsland asks: What has innovation got to do with us?
Innovation is one of government’s current buzzwords and IT can both be a source of innovation and a support for it. Unfortunately, some recent NHS policy documents fail to mention innovation. But that’s no reason for NHS IT people not to get involved, says Iain Marsland.
If, by some quirk of legal magic, you had the intellectual property rights to the word ‘innovation’, you would be making a lot of money right now. The government sees innovation as something of a Get out of Jail Free card in terms of delivering high quality services that also offer value for money to the consumer and the public purse.
The Prime Minister is an enthusiast for innovation. He set up the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills when he took office. And he believes that by harnessing creative ideas, the world economy will double in value over the next 20 years - despite the current recession.
In a recent speech, he noted that innovation needed IT developers, scientists, entrepreneurs and academics with backing from government to provide the economic and policy context in which public services could be enabled to take risks and ultimately flourish.
Innovation is a global idea
Innovation is a global movement. Barack Obama won the White House on a platform of change; and that wasn’t limited to simply encouraging George W Bush to move house. We wait to see the impact of his policies on US healthcare.
“Innovation is central to the NHS to enable constant improvement in the quality of care and best value for money.”
Closer to home, the Darzi healthcare review, High Quality Care for All, was very much founded upon innovation; arguing that: “Innovation is central to the NHS to enable constant improvement in the quality of care and best value for money.”
The Operating Framework for the NHS in England 2009-10 continues the theme by “encouraging innovation through breaking down barriers.” Primary care trusts can now commission innovation through specific Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) funds.
Furthermore, strategic health authorities (SHAs) have been specifically mandated through a new duty to “support innovation and to foster a pioneering NHS.” They have also been provided with new funds of approximately £5 million each to kick-start these activities.
IT should be at the heart of innovation
So what has this to do with IT? Oh sure, IT and innovation are mentioned in the same sentence all the time, but what does that mean when we scratch under the surface? A good start would be to define what innovation is.
I was recently asked to do this by a Professor of Innovation from one of the many business schools that have created innovation departments. He was crestfallen when I responded: “Doing things differently.” This is the Oxford dictionary definition; but I didn’t get the job!
Even so, I think change is the main part of the discussion – IT plays its part as a tactical provider of change, but only in the context of change will IT get to play its legitimate role. There are three forms of change: incremental change; step change; and change of direction.
Incremental change is simply doing the same things more effectively. This can be achieved by reducing variations or redundancies in processes. Lean management, for example, is a technique that can identify and reduce redundant processes.
“Innovators in IT should raise their hands and get involved. The NHS will be stronger in the future for it.”
Step change, or doing things differently, is achieved by setting out clear goals, understanding the process changes required to achieve those goals and identifying the people, skills and IM&T required to support those changes.
A change of direction, or doing different things, comes about from introducing new medical technologies, new therapies and drugs, or implementing new policies, such as Choose and Book.
Get involved with innovation in the NHS
In last month’s article, I argued that IT was the only resource at our disposal that could deliver sustainable change without a similar and opposing fiscal overhead.
IT is a key resource in for innovation both in terms of innovative IT in its own right and IT developed in support of innovation. The NHS Care Record Service, when fully delivered, will be truly innovative and will support new innovations in clinical practice and patient care.
However, the Operating Framework 2009-10 gave no requirement to deploy innovative IT, limiting its focus to information governance and leadership. Similarly the Informatics Planning 2009-10 paper issued to support it does not mention innovation once.
The Prime Minister understands - or at least enthuses about - the link between IT and innovation, but this link disappears once it crosses Whitehall and enters Richmond House.
Even so, as the SHAs set up networks of innovation leaders - and there is already a group of innovation leaders meeting with the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement - it is important that innovators in IT raise their hands and get involved. The NHS will be stronger in the future for it.