Innovation in Laboratory Medicine

Innovation In Healthcare

Innovation has been generally defined as “…the intentional introduction and application within a role, group, or organization, of ideas, processes, products or procedures, new to the relevant unit of adoption and designed to significantly benefit the individual, the group, or wider society…” (Price & St. John, 2014). Innovation in healthcare undergoes invention, adoption and diffusion, this one is related with the facilitation and widespread adoption of the new test or device (Price, 2012). In order to innovation take place in healthcare, there has to be the identification of an unmet need, the determination of the effectiveness of a certain process, the application of the evidence-based knowledge at the time, and an audition to the application in the field. There are several drivers that impact on success of the innovation including process quality, effectiveness, efficiency, patient aspiration, the change observed in the care pathway and the impact on the stakeholders involved in healthcare delivery, as their flexibility to change (Omachonu & Einspruch, 2010).