How can you identify unmet needs in healthcare and create innovative solutions?

This is actually quite a critical step in articulating the value of your innovation that actually matters. Throughout my career in healthcare, I have not seen this often well articulated. Many times, innovators come first with a new technology or product, and then looks for a unmet need that the innovation addresses. The second mistake I often see is localising the problem. You can have a problem in a particular country or setting, but might might not be considered as such in another setting. For example, hospital bed turnover is a very important issue in the US hospitals, but not so much in Japan. So understanding the local setting, infrastructure, cultural and lifestyle context is really important to define the true value of the solution.

I would say my less detailed answers are: Engaging with stakeholders and healthcare professionals; exploring emerging technologies like AI and telemedicine; observing daily workflows for inefficiencies; considering the patient experience and pain points; and staying ethical, inclusive, and compliant with regulations.

First of all you need to do research on what are the unmet needs in healthcare and what solutions can be bought to solve the issues in healthcare and how can it be build and also bring about a big revenue generation model out of it

Identifying unmet medical needs in healthcare to create innovative solutions is the BEST thing I do. With more than 2 decades of Healthcare experience across healthcare spectrum = Pharma + Med Devices + HealthTech + Hospitals across Asia Pacific, its easy to define the problem which is the first & most important step. Some other steps to identify & solve unmet needs in healthcare: 1. Conduct user research 2. Identify & prfioritize needs 3. Generate & test ideas 4. Implement & scale solutions 5. Foster a culture of innovation Some strategies for creative problem solving include: 1. Brainstorming 2. Thinking hats 3. Problem reversal 4. S.W.O.T. 5. Role-playing 6. Digital Health / HealthTech 7. Digital Marketing for hospitals growth

Apart from focusing on yet unmet (already known) needs, innovation spaces may need to also accommodate for introducing ideas and practices that further improve the "already good" state. This may be facilitated by setting up opportunities and platforms for analyzing the current state, brainstorming potential alternative approaches, and introducing innovative ways of doing things.

Some key watch outs here are to as far as possible get to what consumers / patients do vs what they say. Also, both qualitative and quantitative research have their own role here - qualitative is about depth and understanding the why at various levels - functional, emotional, social. Quantitative enables width and understanding impact and importance over a larger segment of the target group.

Surveys and Interviews: Engage patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers to understand their pain points and challenges. Data Analytics: Analyze healthcare data, such as patient outcomes, utilization rates, and gaps in service delivery, to identify trends and areas needing improvement.

This is completely misguided. In the problems identified above the user is not where the problem is. We ask patients if they are frustrated with wait times? This does not need user research. We ask if people are frustrated with the complexity of the care system? We know the answer. The research should be about figuring out where the bottlenecks are and fixing the blockages.

I think IDI are key with the users of the service to understand the satisfaction and dissatisfaction to be in a position to develop interventions with idea of the user

The most important part in 'problem solving' is to identify the problem and agree that there is a problem. Look for "work around" by people in the organisation and analyse the same. I have always seen senior management passing comments that some junior managers are "working around" SOPs of the organisation. Instead of complaining about them, we need to look into "WHY" are they doing so. Why are they taking a long loop to finish a task when there is a laid down, no-brainer SOP !! The identification of the problem lies in this analysis. Once a direction is set, all these tools such as surveys, observations etc can come handy.

Healthcare = Industry of unmet needs. Finding them is the easy part. Healthcare’s challenge is in the ability to innovate at the process end. There is great innovation taking place at the product end, but the speed of it is where there is opportunity. Governing bodies need to innovate, cut down process and timelines while ensuring patient safety and outcomes. At the other end of the spectrum, is scalable innovation to address the world population not just a market niche, here too it is about process. Which is what we are focused on at VADN Health! Just one of the many features of our platform – Tendering, will help public & private groups lower cost, improve productivity, transparency and reduce timelines down to mins vs months.

Identifying unmet healthcare needs relies on deep engagement with patients and providers, uncovering their challenges and aspirations. Through extensive research, hidden pain points surface, guiding the prioritization process. Understanding these needs, from accessibility gaps to care inefficiencies, directs attention to crucial areas necessitating innovative solutions. Prioritizing these pressing challenges steers the focus toward crafting tailored, empathetic solutions that authentically address stakeholders' unmet needs.This approach guarantees that innovations precisely meet identified needs, elevating care quality and accessibility, aligning closely with the critical needs of the healthcare community.

Prioritization based on scale of preparence from the analized data results, which can be obtained and presented in a pictorial format or statistical information that can be easily accessed such as pie chart histogram or bar chart, frequency and means depending on the type and quality of the data analized, will make the enactment of programs or policies to achieve the desired outcome.

It can certainly feel daunting and perhaps overwhelming to think of being an innovator in any field. But it all starts with identifying the needs, and seeing what the issues are that are causing the needs. Then figure out which need can cause the biggest impact once addressed, if that one is not feasible, move to the next, work through each identifiable need and address them as able. Innovation is a long, arduous process. Do feel discouraged if you get down far on the needs list before finding one you can address. Start small, work big if needed.

The biggest challenge is to ask who's needs you are solving for. Most health systems are primarily focused on the needs of the system and that the needs of the patient, the user are secondary. Once the priority becomes the patient and the users, solutions will become much clearer.

Feedback Loops: Implement mechanisms for ongoing feedback from stakeholders to refine and iterate on solutions. Outcome Measurement: Continuously assess the impact of implemented solutions on patient outcomes and healthcare delivery.

This is it. Trying some things, run some experiements. Figure out what works and what doesn't. But mostly this makes things more complicated than they need to be.

Health care is one of the sectors that's always on the path of innovation,still there are unmet needs and un-sailed zones that are waiting for innovation and testing.The best people to come into innovation in healthcare and lay their hands are none other than the health care workers.They are the people who exactly know the limitations of existing ideas and innovations, and in which areas and which ways they need to be improved to cater to the 'real' needs. It does not need to be breaking innovations at a large scale ,but simple ideas of change and smart ways of implementation on the ground could also be considered as ways of innovation as long as they improve patient care and bring a difference.

Identifying unmet medical needs, implementing innovative solutions & scaling to large scale sustainable profitable businesses in healthcare is the BEST thing I do With 23 years Healthcare experience across healthcare spectrum = Pharma + Med Devices + HealthTech + Hospitals across Asia Pacific some of my strategies for implementing and scaling innovative solutions are 1. User-centric approaches 2. Replication or adaptation 3. Dedicated organisations 4. Multi-partner collaborative approach Some innovations in healthcare 1. Telemedicine 2. AI and ML 3. Wearable devices 4. 3D printing 5. Antimicrobials 6. Blockchain technology 7. Robotics 8. Nanomedicine 9. Internet of things 10. Healthcare specific SEM, SEO, GMB, Website 11. Digital Health

Healthcare systems all over the world have some mundane, monotonous but non-replaceable processes, these need to be seen from a different perspective. How can we bring innovation in these complex yet transformable section is a key. The common misconception for innovation is always into clinical areas but it can always be in para clinical or Non-clinical areas too.

Innovation in healthcare is not just about technology. This is where the current thinking is going wrong. Actual innovation is about understanding human needs and finding better ways to address them. This thought anomaly is what is creating waste in healthcare innovations in the recent past.

I would argue, that It is relatively easy to identify the most important challenges in public healthcare and develop innovative solutions with ROI calculations, usability studies, etc. In my experience, creating a culture and processes that support innovations and collaboration with respective stakeholders (e.g. public & private actors, RDI organizations) is the most challenging. Especially in the state of economic regression, public healthcare does not usually provide anything that is not legally required. Existing practices and operating models are not always very innovative. For example, innovative or value-based public procurements could play a significant role in curbing public healthcare costs and fostering a culture of innovation.

?? Igniting Healthcare Innovation: A Holistic Approach Identifying unmet needs begins with a strategic blend of design thinking and implementation science. Embrace the ADKAR model for change management, ensuring smooth transitions. Implement the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle for iterative improvements. Beyond steps, cultivate a culture of innovation. Encourage a learning environment that values experimentation and learns from failures. Collaborate with like-minded innovators, leveraging diverse expertise. This synergy not only transforms healthcare but also leaves a lasting impact on user lives. ???? #HealthcareInnovation #DesignThinking #ChangeManagement

Empathy and Co-creation: Involve patients in the design process to ensure solutions align with their needs and preferences. Human-Centered Design: Use design thinking methodologies to generate solutions centered around the end-user experience.

To identify unmet needs in healthcare, start by engaging with healthcare professionals, and patients to learn about current challenges, then define and prioritize specific problems to tackle based on those challenges. Next, dive into the problem you’ve defined by conducting research - talk to those the problem affects and capture their feedback. Synthesize your findings, and start generating solutions. Ensure continuous feedback throughout the process, and test, evaluate and iterate as many times as needed. Next, develop a plan to implement and scale your solution, taking into consideration various factors such as regulatory frameworks, economic viability, and how well your innovative solution integrates with existing infrastructure.

Identifying unmet needs in healthcare and creating innovative solutions at scale, can share multiple ideas and experiences I had in my 23 years of healthcare experience across the entire spectrum of healthcare - Pharma + Med Device + Hospitals + Digital Health solutions. Here are some steps to identify unmet needs in healthcare: 1. Define the problem 2. Conduct user research 3. Identify and prfioritize needs 4. Generate and test ideas 5. Implement and scale solutions 6. Foster a culture of innovation

Regulatory Analysis: Understand healthcare regulations and policies to ensure proposed solutions comply while addressing unmet needs. Advocacy: Engage with policymakers to advocate for changes that support innovative solutions in healthcare.

This article assumes that HC systems are up and running smoothly and all is needed is further refinements through identification of unmet needs. However, the widely accepted reality in HC is - as clearly demonstrated during the COVID pandemic - that public HC systems, especially their primary care sector, need to be much better supported, developed and modernized, with administrators and central governments truly supporting and empowering HC professionals to take lead roles. This is the elephant in the room and the single most important bet in Health Care today.

As someone working in market access, I strongly believe that we can build a more effective and just healthcare system by focusing on a few key strategies. Firstly, we need to conduct a thorough analysis of the existing market to understand our competitors, pricing strategies, and reimbursement pathways. Secondly, we should develop a plan for obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals for our solution. Thirdly, we need to effectively communicate the unique value proposition of our solution to potential stakeholders, explaining how it can benefit them. Lastly, we should create a comprehensive market access strategy that outlines our approach to pricing, reimbursement, distribution, and marketing our solution.