Last week I attended the SoCal HIMSS Annual Healthcare IT Conference. Like other HIMSS events I’ve attended, all the speakers provided insights useful to learning more about the current healthcare IT environment. Amidst the interesting presentations and panels, one keynote speaker stood out with his message on disruptive innovation. He energized the audience with an uplifting message and had us all thinking about how creativity and collaboration can help teams exceed some of their perceived limitations.
The speaker discussed how various innovative technologies, such as CRSIPR gene-editing tools and the Hyperloop transit system, could transform the current state in multiple sectors, redefine markets and ultimately change the way people live. Pioneering these game-changing innovations requires disruptive minds, and the speaker tried to help the audience learn to think and approach problems more like these innovators.
One famous disruptive mind the speaker mentioned was Astro Teller who heads up the unique and secretive Google X innovation lab. Interestingly, Teller’s actual title at X is Captain of Moonshots. In a technology context, a “moonshot” is an ambitious, potentially ground-breaking project with a lofty goal and an extremely low probability for success. Google defines it as a project that takes on a large issue, proposes a radical solution and uses breakthrough technologies in hopes of making the world a better place.
Our take on moonshots
Large-scale IT infrastructure initiatives often require very practical thinking, and unlike Google, hospitals typically don’t have the resources to actively pursue moonshots. That being said, I found our HIMSS speaker stimulating because he encouraged the audience to think beyond common limitations and to embrace new creative ways of approaching complex problems.
In healthcare, providers are always looking for ways to rise above roadblocks and develop crucial improvements to patient care and experience. In the case of healthcare IT, hospitals often manage limited resources but must still find ways to implement the infrastructure needed to support ground-breaking healthcare movements, such as population health and value-based care.
At T2 Tech Group, our healthcare IT consultants know how to break through departmental silos and facilitate productive collaboration. This allows us to align with both clinical and IT teams on actionable strategic roadmaps that can pave the way for significant change. Bringing together various voices and ideas in a structured and productive way helps us envision and define the ideal end state.
When it’s time to execute, T2 Tech’s agile techniques allow our project teams to communicate with full transparency and constantly improve process for better results. The open communication emphasized in our methodology creates a forum for sharing disruptive and innovative ideas. By working with executives, clinical teams, hospital IT and other key departments, we can gain insight into the overarching goals of an entire organization, properly assess gaps standing in the way and become a part of developing the framework for truly innovative transformations.
As a member of T2 Tech, I am proud to be part of a company that emphasizes agility and has developed a flexible methodology that allows us to keep in step with the ever-evolving healthcare IT landscape. Inspired by this dynamic speaker, my team will continue to think of new ways to apply innovative and disruptive techniques to help solve our clients’ most complex IT challenges.