Sorting innovations into three groups — innovation, testing and scale-up/spread — can significantly benefit organizations trying to implement new practices, according to research published in Academic Pediatrics.
While researchers are constantly finding promise in new systems of innovation, those systems require institution-level customization to be useful. The study authors recommend all institutions ask the question, "how and in what contexts does a new model work or can be amended to work," in each improvement initiative they undertake.
To answer this question, understanding the context of the innovation — at which developmental level it is functioning — is key.
The study recommends structuring improvement to be iterative, carefully cataloging implementation strategies and results and having a trained researcher lead improvement implementation.
In an additional recommendation for the healthcare system, the study stresses the need for improved language and taxonomy with which to describe the concepts, costs and benefits associated with quality and operations improvement initiatives. Standardized terminology could greatly increase the success of improvement initiatives in the funding and research arenas, according to the report.