Promoting innovation is the goal of most American health systems. However, in many cases, the innovation process lacks diversified participation. A supplier is trying to change this situation through an initiative aimed at identifying and breaking down barriers to underrepresented groups.
At the end of last month, General Brigham, A system of 14 hospitals in Boston, Revealed the details of its innovator community expansion planThe health system includes Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, both of which are teaching affiliates of Harvard Medical School.
The program was launched in October 2019 and will focus on increasing the participation of underrepresented groups at Brigham Massachusetts General Hospital, starting with women and early-career clinicians and scientists.
“Why [behind the initiative] It’s really because it generates more ideas for new drugs, software, equipment and therapies, and increases the diversity of people who provide ideas [and] Participation in the innovation process will ultimately help influence patient care,” Diana Schwartzstein, executive managing director and co-leader of the program, said in a telephone interview.
The initiative is taking a data-driven approach to promote innovative and diversified participation. Using the newly developed dashboard, the leaders of the program were able to see the huge difference in who in the organization brought their ideas to the table.
To further understand the obstacles faced by underrepresented groups, Schwarzstein and her team conducted a survey in collaboration with Katherine Koffman, an assistant professor of business administration at Harvard Business School.
The survey received more than 635 responses, indicating a lack of general knowledge-such as how do you start? What is the road to commercialization? Schwarzstein said that lack of time and resources are the main obstacles. These barriers are shared among different population groups.
“We know this is a huge opportunity because there are 6,000 Harvard-affiliated teachers [members] In our system,” Schwarzstein said. “So, we [have a] A large number of potential innovators, [but] We know that the number of people actually participating and then commercializing is much smaller. “
To help underrepresented groups overcome obstacles, the innovator community expansion plan focuses on three areas: networks in the healthcare sector, including leaders from venture funds, start-ups, and technology companies; education and awareness of the commercialization process; and data To measure improvement.
The program is creating an online education program that provides 22 entry-level courses on the basics of innovation, from patents and conflicts of interest to the basics of licensing and research agreements. It will soon be open to all investigators of General Brigham.
The Innovator Community Expansion Initiative also hosted a virtual development and networking conference in March, inviting female leaders and investors across the health system to discuss how to expand women’s visibility in medical innovation. If Covid allows it, they plan to hold a face-to-face web conference in the fall.
To measure their success, the program will focus on the number of invention disclosures submitted by members of the Mass General Brigham team and the demographics of those who submitted applications.
Schwartzstein said that as the plan’s efforts continue to intensify, leaders will track the number of participants and design new plans based on their findings.
Photo: Ulupong, Getty Images
