Positive Impacts of Disruptive Technology

by Kourtney Govro

Have you ever thought of your hospital’s technology project as being “disruptive”? It certainly can be to your staff, but that is not the type of disruption I am talking about. I don’t mean interrupting the daily doings of your hospital.  I mean shifting how your hospital provides care in a positive way – disrupting your norms to birth something more effective.  Many hospitals don’t consider the cultural changes that need to occur to do digital transformation effectively.  Change is inevitable, but it is also imperative. The way we provide care today must be different then how we have provided care in the past. 

One of my favorite authors throughout my MBA was Clayton Christensen. He is best known for his theories on disruptive innovation and providing a framework around digital transformation. He claims that one of the dangers that large companies encounter is becoming too good at what they do best.  Have you thought about that? It runs counter to most of the hospital cultures that I have experienced.  Being good at what you do best is very important when you are doing heart surgery or treating cancer. However, if you go beyond the 30,000 foot view of “being best” and drill into the details of the how, then you will begin to understand the genius of that statement. The “hows” are the processes we do today and how they have to change when using technology.  Notice I used the word change and not adjust.  Many times hospitals think they will simply enhance a workflow or adjust it by using technology.  When one moves from paper to an EMR it is clear that the process has not adjusted – it has changed. 

Disruptive technology is essential to our care staff, and it means just what the title calls for – disruption. We need to disrupt how we provide care to enable providers to transform how they serve the patients well.  That means we need to evaluate all processes. 

Here are some things you should consider?

• Make a document for each department that identifies what other departments or individuals they communicate with on a regular basis.
  • How does that communication occur – direct verbal, notes, telephone, etc?