Innovation in the health sector is often isolated and uncoordinated; need is recognised at the front line, but it struggles to gain the support it needs to turn ideas into practice. This is the challenge addressed through the latest development from the National Institute for Health Innovation (NIHI).
Director of NIHI, Malcolm Pollock suggests that while innovators are not short of good ideas, they often lack the connections to realise them. Innovation needs a central place to thrive and this is the basis of the Health InnoVation Exchange (www.hive.org.nz).
‘The hive is where cross-pollination can generate vital and sometimes unplanned outcomes,‘ suggests Research Fellow Dr. Chris Paton. ‘For example in the hive, a clinician might blog about their telemedicine project based in Otago, a technologist from Sydney could add their real world experience, then a GP in Hamilton might join the discussion. As the interest group grows, the collective wisdom contributes to a more effective outcome,’ he continues.
‘Think of it as a virtual laboratory; where anyone with a valid contribution to make, with an interest in what’s going on or an idea they want to develop can get together with others free of the tyrannies of time and distance,’ Malcolm Pollock adds. He believes the availability of this type of environment is critical to the future development of healthcare services in New Zealand.
In this collaborative community professionals connect across the spectrum of health and technology, nurturing developments, and enhancing creative synergies in NZ and offshore. If they want to create a private group within the hive to protect confidential discussions, the hive enables this. Feeds from other information sources are channelled into the hive, making it a one stop centre for its community.
‘The hive is where people, organisations, ideas, debate, experience, research, investors and other enablers come together to create the innovation culture, practice and the momentum that are the foundation for building a 21st century health service,’ says Malcolm Pollock.
www.hive.org.nz is an initiative of the National Institute for Health Innovation and has been commissioned by the Ministry of Health.
‘This is a timely forum for all who are interested in health. Deep, open, ongoing dialogue is required to navigate the changes we are facing. How we deliver and think about health is on the brink of transformation greater than that which internet banking brought to the banking industry. If we are nimble, New Zealand can be leaders in reaping the health and economic benefits. The hive can help us take charge of our own destiny,’ says Dr. Andrew Holmes, the Ministry’s Principal Clinical Advisor, Health Information.
Director of the National Institute for Health Innovation, Malcolm Pollock has been Chair of the Health IT Cluster. He is a leader in the development in health technologies aimed at improving the quality of healthcare delivery in New Zealand, and was co-founder of the organisation now known as Health Informatics New Zealand (HINZ).
Dr. Chris Paton is a Research Fellow at the National Institute for Health Innovation at Auckland University and CEO of New Media Medicine Ltd, where he has built several knowledge sharing sites. Dr. Paton is a specialist in the use of Web 2.0 technology in medicine and chairs the International Medical Informatics Association Social Media Working Group.
For more information go to hive: www.hive.org.nz , or contact Malcolm Pollock 021 727 458.
To view Emendo's blog on hive, click here.