Innovating health care delivery: the design of health services

Abstract

Purpose

The structure of health care financing, the lack of vertical and horizontal integration, and the slow translation of basic research into meaningful health outcomes for the population conspire to make innovation in health service delivery a difficult task. However, health service organizations that can more effectively and systematically understand patient needs – needs that are now poorly understood and often unarticulated – have an intrinsic advantage in delivering high value care. This ‐paper aims to describe a program for translating those needs into health services innovations.

Design/methodology/approach

The Mayo Clinic, a large integrated multispecialty medical group based in Rochester, Minnesota developed an in‐house design program, the SPARC Innovation Program, to bring design thinking and business analysis together to develop innovations in care delivery. A project example is described to illustrate how designers, business strategists, health care professionals, and patients create new high‐value health care experiences.

Findings

The paper finds that health service organizations need to pay more attention to the patient experience if they are to meet patient needs. The design program described here is one approach that organizations can take if they are serious about deeply understanding patient needs and developing innovations to address them.

Originality/value

While the discipline of design is the core of innovation in many industries, it is not widely known or practiced in health service organizations despite a natural affinity between design and medicine. Understanding and employing the power of design in health services will allow medical institutions to develop more effective health services, enhance patient satisfaction, and meet important human needs.

Citation

Duncan, A.K. and Breslin, M.A. (2009), "Innovating health care delivery: the design of health services", Journal of Business Strategy, Vol. 30 No. 2/3, pp. 13-20. https://doi.org/10.1108/02756660910942427