Peering beyond the walls of healthcare institutions: a catalyst for innovation

BACKGROUND: Healthcare providers operate in a unique industry characterized by pursuit of perhaps the most noble of missions: the delivery of vital health and medical services to those in need. Distinguishing features abound, differentiating the healthcare industry from others, with such facets having the potential to compel those serving in health and medical establishments to focus exclusively on their selected industry. But directing attention solely within can result in missed opportunities, especially regarding innovation. Many innovations which are well suited for healthcare establishments emerge externally, making at least some exposure beyond the healthcare industry essential for institutions desirous of operating on the innovation frontier. DISCUSSION: True innovation emerges from broad worldviews, allowing healthcare providers to comprehensively understand the current state of the art. With such an understanding, novel tools, techniques, and approaches, regardless of industry of origin, can be examined for their potential to elevate the status and stature of efforts within health and medical establishments. It is this very open, inquisitive mindset that permitted Willis-Knighton Health System to identify and incorporate a range of innovations which originated outside of the healthcare industry. Its embracement of and associated successes with the repurposing approach known as adaptive reuse, the delivery of complex medical services via centers of excellence, and the structuring of operations using the hub-and-spoke organization design, for example, would never have occurred had executives not directed attention externally in search of innovations that could be used within. CONCLUSIONS: Innovations offer key pathways for healthcare providers to enhance the depth and breadth of health and medical services offered in their establishments and communities. By peering beyond the walls of healthcare institutions, providers amplify opportunities to discover novel methods and approaches that potentially can be transferred into their own organizations, benefiting themselves and their patient populations.