Clinicians are a potential source for innovations that could lead to healthcare quality improvement and reduction in cost. To help clinicians gain expertise in jump-starting new projects, Boston Children's Hospital has launched an internal startup accelerator.
The hospital says it opted to develop the Innovation & Digital Health Accelerator internally because other external options were more geared toward startups instead of early-phase projects. Since its opening last year, the accelerator has engaged with more than 300 clinicians, researchers and administrators and has backed nine projects, three of which have become their own startup companies.
Other hospitals that have found success with forming an accelerator programme are Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (11 companies participated in the first run of its accelerator) and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, which opened a dedicated space at New York City-based accelerator Blueprint Health in 2014.
Boston Children's is sharing several lessons on design elements that can make a healthcare accelerator successful, including:
- Encourage staff to have a business mindset. Expose clinicians to the business perspective, and even those who are not selected will learn something from the experience.
- Offer constructive criticism. When a proposal is rejected, this should not prevent staff members continuing to generate ideas in the future.
- Respond to proposals
quickly. Value clinician’s time and evaluate their
proposals in a timely manner. Boston Children’s accelerator offers a programme
called Opportunity SPRINT, where clinical teams meet with business and strategy
experts to triage ideas.
- Turn to a leader with entrepreneurial vision. Everyone’s skills are valuable, but the person leading the charge at the accelerator must be able to see projects through to the end.
Source: FierceHealthcare
Image Credit: Pixabay
