Health systems can innovate by modeling themselves after retail disruptors and identifying more environmentally (and cost-) friendly care tools, the American Hospital Association reported.
Here are four takeaways for healthcare providers from the recent Aspen Ideas Festival, as outlined June 27 by the AHA:
1. Go green. Seema Gandhi, MD, an anesthesiologist and medical director of sustainability at San Francisco-based UCSF Health, explained how she implemented a clinical decision support tool to use low-flow anesthesia, reducing emissions of the greenhouse gas desflurane and saving $300,000 in the first year.
2. Become more responsive to consumers. "Disruptors have a healthy dissatisfaction with the status quo," said Tina Freeze Decker, president and CEO of Corewell Health, coheadquartered in Grand Rapids and Southfield, Mich., according to the article. "Retailers put their pricing on their walls. It's easy to understand." She said retail disruptors are also better at collecting and analyzing data and garnering patient loyalty.
3. Look into reversible gene editing. This technology could soon become a reality as the FDA has said this year it is considering an approval decision for the CRISPR gene-editing tool that targets and modifies DNA sequences.
4. Invest in women's health. Femtech has historically been underrepresented in venture capital land research-and-development funding, providing an opportunity for investors. Two recent ventures highlighted at the event include pelvic floor physical therapy platform Origin and a fetal heart monitor (currently in FDA trials) from Raydiant Oximetry.