Innovation in Telemedicine Brandon M Welch, MS, PhD Assistant Professor, Biomedical Informatics Director, Telehealth Research and Innovation Program
Disclosures Doxy.me founder and shareholder ItRunsInMyFamily.com founder and shareholder
Clayton M. Christensen
Sustaining Innovation
Disruptive innovation
Innovation Time Light home users Sustaining innovation Disruptive innovation Average home user School/work users Designers/developers Performance/Features
Use case #1: Transportation
1908 Locomobile 40 Runabout
1909 Ford Model T
Automobile growth
Use case #2: Computing
Mainframe computers
Personal Computers
Computer Growth
Use case #3: Telemedicine
Telemedicine is disruptive to traditional care Time Counseling Disruptive innovation Non-serious diagnosis Emergency situations Surgery Performance/Features
Telemedicine Technology
Disruptive telemedicine technology
Must be easier and cheaper than status quo
Designed for the everyday person (doctor)
Easy to use + inexpensive > features + power
You can’t drive disruption by spending a lot of money
Not a single product, several with a common theme
Complicated and expensive products will still be around
Thank you Brandon M Welch, MS, /in/welchbm Assistant Professor, Biomedical Informatics Center, MUSC
Common theme Inventions that change the world are disruptive Disruptive innovations make technology simple and inexpensive -> available to everyday person You can’t drive disruption by spending a lot of money on expensive and complicated technology Disruptive inventions cause rapid change in industries, even affecting other industries While not comparable to start, as they become more widely adopted their capabilities catch up with and exceed previous technology Not a single product, several with a common theme Complicated product still available for specific use cases, but it isn’t the one that changed the world
Telemedicine is disruptive to traditional care Time Performance/Features
Telemedicine potential Reduce costs Increase access Improve healthcare Could change the world
Why isn’t telemedicine used everywhere? Complicated – Requires tech support and training Expensive to setup and run Limited to large healthcare organizations using grant funding Not patient friendly
Telemedicine is disruptive Going to clinic for simple
Telemedicine barriers Complicated Expensive Hard to use
When innovating telemedicine solutions Easy to use + inexpensive > features + power Simple Intuitive: no training required Inexpensive Leverage widely available technology (mobile, web, computers) Complicated and expensive propriety telemedicine systems are likely to be obsolete in a few years
Sustaining innovation Incremental improvements Builds on existing technology and process Operates within the existing business model Make current products better, faster, stronger User demand drives sustaining innovation Low risk