1.1. My Definition: A process where by a group of professionals with an array of specialties and backgrounds collaborate and utilize their varying ideas in a systematic fashion to strategically evolve and progress these ideas into a desired outcome.
1.2. Example: The development of a robotic device called HAL which helps reduce injuries and back strain for healthcare workers by lifting/moving patients using a robotic attachable arm is a great example of the innovation process. HAL was developed by a team of robotic engineers in collaboration with medical researchers and caregivers such as Nurses CNA's (Cyberdyne, 2016). The collaboration of ideas and experiences among this multifaceted group of individuals with varying expertise is what evoked inspiration and moved change along, eventually resulting in the production of the HAL device. (Cyberdyne, 2016)
2. Leadership
2.1. My Definition: Conducting a group of individuals towards an outcome by serving as both a captain and a mentor while ensuring adherence to the main vision and mission by setting achievable goals, guiding by example, providing constructive feedback, recognizing individual effort and creating a platform for position.
2.2. Example: President and CEO of Carilion Clinic in Virginia, Nancy Howell Agee is a prime demonstrator of leadership since she started at Carilion Clinic as a nurse back 1970 (Rechtoris, 2017). She worked her way up to President and CEO by consistently leading by example and taking initiative. From 2001 to 2011, while serving as Executive Vise President and COO, Ms. Agee lead the entire clinic in efforts to transition into a patient-centric, Physician-lead organization (Rechtoris, 2017). Ms. Agee explained in an interview to Becker's Hospital Review that she describes her leadership style as 'servant leadership", meaning that she places the needs of the institution's employees and patients at top priority (Agee, 2015).
3. Evidence-Based Practice
3.1. My Definition: The use of current and reliable research studies to come to the best decision in a clinical setting or in any professional setting in order to achieve a desired outcome,
3.2. Example: A good example of utilizing evidence-based practice in a clinical setting is a physician who specializes in the health of stroke survivors and is in need of new or innovative interventions to help his/her patients maintain better health. They may search a data base for various clinical studies and read articles such as "A Pilot Trial of a Lifestyle Intervention for Stroke Survivors: Design of Healthy Eating and Lifestyle After Stroke (HEALS)". This article is on a study done by a team of research specialists and MD's who piloted an interventions called HEALS and recorded their findings for others to utilize for research or for the purpose of evidence-based practice (Hill et. all., 2014).
4. Finance
4.1. My Definition: The means in which the innovation process is funded as well as the analyzation of potential profits, savings, and earnings that can be had when the said intervention is placed into effect.
4.2. Example: The Single-Payer System is a healthcare plan that is publically financed but delivers private care to all citizens. If implemented in the United States it would expand Medicare to all by lowering the eligibility age to 0 and would provide a full range of benefits to all U.S. citizens from birth until death. This system would place all 300 million Americans into a single risk pool which would help control the cost of healthcare and therefore can be projected to save the U.S. 504 billion dollars every year (Burwell, 2016). The process of analyzing this potential effect that Single-Payer would have on the economy as far as how much money it would save the United States on healthcare is an example of finance in innovation.
5. Policy
5.1. My Definition: A strategic and systematic code or system that is proposed and enforced within ethical and legal context to provide guidlines, moralities, structures and procedures to follow and comply with.
5.2. Example: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is an example of a comprehensive healthcare policy that was enacted by the governement on March 23, 2010 (HealthCare.gov, 2017). The law made health coverage easier for more people to understand by providing a multitude of rights and protections and made coverage more affordable with subsides through premimum tax credits and cost-sharing reductions (HealthCare.gov, 2017). This policy also expanded the Medicaid program which allowed for more low-income people to become covered by health insurance as well (HealthCare.gov, 2017).
6. Technology and Communication
6.1. My Definition: Utilizes the unique strengths and functions of both concepts (technology and communication) to produce innovative solutions that will appeal to the majority of stakeholders which will increase the chance of being able to make advancements on said innovative ideas.
6.2. Example: The best example for conveying the relationship between technology and communication and how these two concepts coincide and work together in order to move the process of innovation along and recieve the ability for advancements is the inovative solution/invention of Telemedicine. Telemedicine uses technology and electronic communication software to provide patients with clinical services through video and audio connections. Telemedicine is constantly making rapid advancments and is becoming more prevalent in healthcare today because it appeals to all parties; patients and providers. To the patient's atvantage, Telemedicine is beneficial in that it reduces travel time and expenses, provides less time away from work and obligations, it reduces interference with elderly or child care responsibilites and it eliminates exposure to other patients contagious illnesses. From the providers perspective, Telemedicine improves office efficiency, improves patient treatment adherence and health outcomes, and lessens appointment cancelations (CHIRON HEALTH, n.d.).
7. Outcomes
7.1. My Definition: The final results compiled from the conclusion of a phenomenon after it undergoes various interventions, systems, trials, processes etc., that were put into effect to alter the phenomenon's original results before implimentation of said interventions, etc., that can then be utlized to manipulate, predict, improve or measure future related results.
7.2. Example: Mortality is a highly important population health outcome measure. In 2008, the CMS and HQA began to publically report pneumonia mortality measures in an effort to initate improvements on patient outcomes (Tinker, 2017). Following their efforts, the MultiCare Health System's launched an initiative to improve the treatment, cost and overall experience of hospitalized pneumonia patients. The intitative included constructing standardized, evidence-based treatment guidlines, driving physician compliance to these order sets, organizing a team of social workers to improve/research patient-communication and follow-through, and establishing an analytical process to aquire feedback on adherance and performance and data on patient vist experiences, care settings, treatment/medication regimens and readmission histories (Tinker, 2017). The establishment and trial of this intervention improved the clinical outcomes for pneumonia patients by reducing the mortality rate by 28 percent (Tinker, 2017)
