Innovation Insights

The pain points of innovation solutions

Excerpts from Evolve Blog: Remote Collaboration and Innovation with panelists Turi McKinley of Frog Design and Isabelle Magnin of Atrium Health Navicent

How to keep innovating?

In the healthcare field, COVID-19 has exposed many disparities, such as the digital divide, as well as several opportunities for improved care. Isabelle spoke of an example a physician faced with a child they had treated for years and knew as being lethargic and nonverbal in appointments. However, in a telehealth appointment in the child’s own home, they were energetic and capable of much more than the physician had expected. This interaction exposed the importance of human-centered design by showing, in this instance, the dependence of patient well-being on their environment and the gap in the physician’s knowledge before having seen them in that environment. Isabelle resolves that the COVID-19 pandemic will change how care is delivered with collaboration and partnership being more crucial than ever.

How have things changed?

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare industry has changed drastically. Physicians no longer have direct access to their patients, instead having to rely more heavily on phone calls and video conferencing. Despite these challenges, however, Isabelle has noticed a significant silver lining to the pandemic. She describes healthcare as, typically, a very “static industry,” but in the first 2 months of the pandemic, we have seen more healthcare innovation than in the last 10 years. Faced with the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19, the healthcare industry has responded with drive-thru testing and telehealth appointments, and remarkably, companies like Ford and Dyson have stepped in to make ventilators when the need presented itself. While there is no denying the emotional and physical challenges of COVID-19, it has served to showcase the human capacity for innovative thinking in the face of disaster.

Orange Sparkle Ball Perspective:

As we prep for the new season of live Evolve podcasts launching October 14th, we are reflecting on insights from Season 1. Looking back at the first Evolve webinar from early in the pandemic, it feels like a different world. At the time COVID-19 had turned the world upside down only 2 months before. We had no clue what we were getting into!

As mentioned in the session, the pandemic necessitated quick changes and significant technological advancements, and in healthcare, these changes led to a significant increase in accessibility. However, as time has passed, we’ve also seen the negative repercussions. What good are incredible tech advances in health systems if huge groups of people don’t trust the system or don’t have access to it? It feels like one step forward, two steps back, reminding me of a quote from Dr. Atul Gawande, that “our [health] system is designed for the great breakthrough, not the great follow-through”. It’s a humbling reminder that in instances of innovation, we believe that the real impact comes from a series of small, simple systems improvements. The continuing global crisis is a perfect example of an entire industry being forced to pivot in an attempt to find immediate solutions. However, the same industry is also an example of solutions and messaging not landing properly because the disconnect between “expert” and “recipient” is vast. The great leaps and pivots come with unintended consequences.

So how do we get to those simple improvements? It was touched on in the session, but we at OSB do it for nearly every project: Co-creation. This is a buzzy phrase in the industry, but if done correctly, it can transform communities in a real way. Think about how public health communications have failed by unintentionally targeting public health professionals, leaving the greater public lost in between the what and the why. As innovators with no subject matter expertise, we are able to objectively identify that disconnect, bring together the necessary stakeholders, facilitate meaningful conversations, and generate progress.

The same gap in understanding can apply in a business setting - are you designing a solution without talking to your customer? Communication is often created by those deep in the project details, with insufficient effort devoted to properly translate it to all stakeholders. Each stakeholder group has different needs and levels of understanding which creates a complex patchwork of product and communication needs that must be taken into account for a solution to be viable. Instead of transactional relationships with end users being handed solutions, hierarchies need to be flattened, and communities must be invited to the table as equals to have real conversations about their needs and how to solve for them. Co-creation, coupled with a series of small iterative changes, allows you to move forward while continuing to be connected to the user.

Writing by Sophie Becker, Design Innovation Strategist at Orange Sparkle Ball, Inc.