HealthManagement, Volume 24/25 - Issue 6, 2025

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Why the Quick-Fix Formula Is a Bandage, Not the Cure

 

Disruptive innovation in healthcare demands solving systemic problems rather than chasing quick fixes or becoming the "next Apple." With healthcare's complexity, including multistakeholder challenges and interconnected systems, impactful disruption requires integration and alignment. True innovators start by diagnosing root issues, iterating on solutions and scaling thoughtfully. The goal is not isolated advances but transformative improvements addressing cost, access and quality comprehensively.

 

Key Points

  • Focus on solving systemic healthcare issues like cost, access and quality, not isolated fixes. 
  • Address the fragmented healthcare system by aligning patients, providers, payers and pharma. 
  • Ensure innovations integrate seamlessly into healthcare to avoid disrupting interconnected systems. 
  • Innovate iteratively: diagnose issues, test solutions and scale while embracing lessons from “failure”. 
  • Lead boldly with sustainable efforts that align with healthcare's complex, multistakeholder needs. 

 

The desire to be the next Apple or Uber of healthcare is irresistible. Everyone wants to be the leader who disrupts the system and leaves a legacy. But in chasing unicorns, we often forget the realities of the healthcare landscape: a fragmented, overwhelmed system with symptoms far beyond what a single innovation—or a quick-fix formula—can address.

 

Before we define what it takes to lead disruptive innovation, let’s start by diagnosing the patient—our healthcare system.

 

Symptoms of a Struggling System

  • Healthcare spending worldwide accounts for 10% of global GDP and has been rising steadily, but the financial burden doesn’t match the quality of care. Globally, 1.5 billion people lack access to essential services, with over 16 million people in the EU alone facing unmet healthcare needs.
  • Burnout among healthcare workers is a global crisis. A 2021 WHO survey found 60% of health workers suffering from significant mental health strain, with similar figures seen across the EU. With increasing turnover and workforce shortages, especially in frontline care roles, we need urgent action to ensure the sustainability and mental well-being of the healthcare workforce.
  • Access tohealthcare remains a global issue. The gap between available resources and healthcare needs is widening, and without innovative solutions, millions will remain underserved.
  • Chronic diseases like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and respiratory diseases are responsible for 70% of global deaths, according to the WHO. Despite this, just 3% of global health spending is allocated to prevention.
  • Medical errors, which, according to global studies, harm one in 10 patients, with poor communication being a major contributor. This lack of coordination leads to avoidable harm, creating additional strain on an already burdened system.
  • Fragmentation paralysing progress: from competing priorities across stakeholders (payers, providers, patients, pharma) to regional disparities, healthcare’s multistakeholder nature can stifle innovation.

 

The Desire—and Illusion—of Disruption

The desire to become a disruptive innovation leader comes with two dangerous misconceptions:

 

  • Chasing Disruption Over Value. Many equate disruption with flashy breakthroughs. However, true disruption in healthcare means solving problems that matter—like improving access, quality and cost—rather than creating solutions that shine but fail to scale.
  • Neglecting Incremental Improvements. The obsession with being a unicorn often overshadows the power of small, meaningful changes. Yet, in a system as complex as healthcare, incremental improvements can cascade into transformational impact.

 

The Risks of the Disruption Obsession

Chasing the unicorn dream can also have unintended consequences:

 

  • Burnout and Unrealistic Expectations. Startups and established players alike often run themselves into the ground chasing the next big thing, ignoring the toll it takes on people.
  • Market Fragmentation. The race to disrupt often isolates efforts rather than uniting them, creating fractured solutions that fail to address the system’s interconnected needs.

 

From Disruption to Systemic Change: What Kind of Unicorn Are We Looking For?

So, what kind of unicorn or disruptive innovation would actually address the multifaceted healthcare crisis?

 

Why Fixing One Won’t Fix All

In fact, singular innovations—no matter how groundbreaking—can sometimes feel like a bandage on a haemorrhage. They may offer temporary relief or improved efficiency in one part of the system but fail to address the underlying, interconnected issues causing the dysfunction. The challenge is that healthcare isn’t just about fixing one part of the system. Even if tomorrow we could find a cure for cancer or restructure insurance models to make healthcare more affordable, those changes alone wouldn’t heal the systemic wounds.

 

Why? Because healthcare is a multiorgan system—every innovation in one part has ripple effects across the rest. For example, an insurance reform might reduce costs for patients, but without addressing workforce burnout or communication breakdowns between stakeholders, it won’t improve care delivery or outcomes. Similarly, a cancer vaccine might save lives, but if healthcare systems remain overloaded and access is still inequitable, many people might not benefit from it.

 

This is why disruptive innovation in healthcare isn’t about finding a quick, isolated fix but about creating a collaborative, system-wide solution that addresses the root causes of inefficiency, inequity and burnout. Disruption in healthcare should be less about being the next Apple or Uber and more about redefining how we work together across the entire system.

 

Why Quick Fixes Fail

Think of healthcare as a critically ill patient. Attempting to disrupt it without a clear understanding of the problem is like rushing into a multiorgan transplant without a proper diagnosis. Worse, the system’s “body” may reject the innovation altogether if it doesn’t integrate seamlessly with the existing ecosystem.

 

This is where the real challenge lies: we don’t even agree on the patient’s diagnosis. Is the priority improving outcomes? Reducing costs? Expanding access? For some, it’s all three, while others are focused on entirely different goals. In addition, the countless treatment pathways pursued independently by various stakeholders make the system’s fragmentation clear.

 

What Would True Disruption Look Like?

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: disruptive innovation isn’t about being the next Apple or Uber of healthcare. It’s about:

 

  • Falling in Love with the Problem. The best innovators don’t start with a shiny solution. They start with a deep understanding of the problem they want to solve. In healthcare, that means addressing the root causes of access, quality and cost issues.
  • Bold Collaboration. Disruption in healthcare is more likely to succeed when it brings stakeholders together rather than isolating them. Imagine pharma, medtech, providers and insurers truly aligning around a shared vision.
  • Resilience Through Failure and Iteration. The path to disruption is messy. It requires the courage to fail fast, learn and iterate. The real “unicorns” are those who embrace failure as a step forward.
  • Balancing Disruption and Incremental Change: Sometimes, the most disruptive thing you can do is to start small—scaling incrementally while keeping the broader system in mind.

 

Before we chase the unicorn dream: what is the problem we are trying to solve? Define it so clearly that even if your solution fails, when we do not reach the moon as planned, we’ll land among the stars. Let us keep in mind that healthcare is a multiorgan system. A bold innovation in one area will inevitably ripple into others. The key to sustainable disruption is recognising this interconnectedness and designing solutions that strengthen the whole, not just the parts.

 

The real boldness isn’t in claiming the unicorn title or emulating the Apples of the world. It’s in creating a healthier, more resilient system.

 

In your view, what’s your boldest step toward transforming healthcare?

 

Checklist for Approaching Disruptive Innovation in Healthcare

  1. Define the Problem Clearly. Ensure a deep understanding of the challenge, considering healthcare’s interwoven dimensions of access, cost and quality.
  2. Focus on Value Over Disruption. Prioritise solving real problems rather than pursuing disruption for its own sake.
  3. Collaborate Across Stakeholders. Engage providers, payers, patients and innovators to co-create solutions and align incentives.
  4. Prepare for Iteration and Failure. Adopt a mindset of learning through trials, emphasising resilience and adaptability.
  5. Address Workforce Well-being. Recognise and mitigate burnout among healthcare professionals to sustain innovation efforts.
  6. Anticipate System-Wide Impact. Evaluate how innovations in one area could affect other parts of the healthcare ecosystem.
  7. Balance Incremental and Bold Solutions. Leverage small, impactful improvements alongside larger transformative projects.
  8. Commit to Sustainability. Ensure innovations are scalable, equitable and capable of long-term integration into existing systems.

 

Conflict of Interest

None.


References:

European Commission (2024) Healthcare expenditure statistics - overview [Accessed on: 11 December 2024]. Available from: ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Healthcare_expenditure_statistics_-_overview

OECD/European Union (2020) Health expenditure and financing. Health at a Glance: Europe 2020: State of Health in the EU Cycle. OECD Publishing, Paris.

World Bank Group (2024) Universal Health Coverage [Accessed on: 11 December 2024]. Available from: worldbank.org/en/topic/universalhealthcoverage

World Health Organisation (2023) Noncommunicable Diseases [Accessed on: 11 December 2024]. Available from: who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/noncommunicable-diseases

World Health Organisation (2024) Global Health Expenditure Database [Accessed on: 27 December 2024]. Available from: apps.who.int/nha/database