HIMSS14: 'Embrace innovative thinking'

ORLANDO--The time demands of federal mandates such as ICD-10 and Meaningful Use “drive my innovation push,” said Lyle Berkowitz, MD, associate CMIO of Northwestern Medicine, delivering the keynote address at the Innovation Symposium at the Health Information and Management Systems Society’s annual meeting.

"We don’t have a shortage of physicians, we simply have a shortage of using them efficiently. Rather than making healthcare more efficient, technology is slowing people down," he said.  Physicians are managing more paperwork, not less. Progress in health IT, however, eventually will make it “easier and better to use EHRs and other IT tools in the future.”

Innovation can be big or small, complex or simple, Berkowitz said. “The important thing is how big an impact it has on the problem you’re facing.”

Innovation requires a different way of thinking, he said, and has its own mantras. For example, “little bets make big wins.” Innovators must learn and build up. They also should fail early, fail often and fail cheaply. In other words, innovators should take risks early on when there is little at risk.  

Berkowitz said his innovation strategy includes three “Es”: explore (brainstorm, observe, investigate), experiment (prototype, pilot, simulate) and expand (fund, spread, commercialize).

Innovation is so important today because healthcare organizations are experiencing decreasing revenues. So, decreasing costs are required. He cited a recent HIMSS survey that found people are prioritizing cost reduction and named top challenges as limited personnel, cultural issues and limited investment capital.  

To achieve successful innovation, Berkowitz recommended having champions with passion and knowledge. “Listen to and observe both providers and patients. Start with crazy ideas and make them realistic later on. Figure out a sustainable business model and spread innovation with IT.”

He cited an idea that someone had to make a pill that turns the faces of people with diabetes polka dotted when their glucose level is too high. While that is a bit extreme, there are now efforts underway to create a bandage or other simple tool patients can wear that lights up when glucose levels go over 200. Such tools don’t need to be exact but be cheap and easy and help people understand their medical conditions, he said.

“Embrace innovative thinking. Explore new processes and tools. Take a safari outside of healthcare and look at what’s being done,” Berkowitz told his audience. He also said innovators should focus on areas in which they have passion and can add value. Innovators should align their work with their organization’s goals. That helps with executive support.

Learn from others but don’t “copy and paste,” he advised. Just because one organization was successful with something doesn’t mean another can implement the same innovation the same way. “Understand and solve the needs of your end-users--not what they think they need.”

Berkowitz also said innovators must keep their tenacious spirit. “It’s so easy to get knocked down but there is a lot of potential to have an impact.”