An Introduction to Innovation in Healthcare

Discover the tools needed for healthcare innovation

On this four-week course from the University of Bath and the West of England AHSN, you’ll be introduced to some of the tools and techniques that individuals and teams can use to develop and refine new products, processes, and services. By the end of the course, you’ll be equipped to initiate and support innovation initiatives in your own organisation.

Understand how to take innovation from idea to realisation

When developing innovation, there are concepts and techniques that you can use to aid the process. This course will guide you through the innovation journey, from spotting opportunities for innovation to conducting research and generating ideas.

You’ll then look at innovation in practice and the key steps involved in the process. This section will take you through developing and testing initiatives, sizing the market and mapping competition, and the project planning aspects.

Explore the implementation of healthcare innovation

Innovation often isn’t just a one-person job; it takes strong teamwork and collaboration to ideate and implement innovation. This course will take you through the importance of these skills, as well as how individuals, teams, and organisations are encouraged to develop an innovation mindset.

You’ll also consider the obstacles and challenges that have to be overcome to bring healthcare innovation to market, as well as the factors that influence the successful adoption and diffusion of healthcare innovations.

Learn from the experts at the University of Bath

The course is developed by the University of Bath, drawing on the expertise of its School of Management and the West of England AHSN, which is able to link to all the key players in the area of health and care innovation across the region.

This course is designed for anyone looking to understand the process and challenges of innovation in healthcare. It will be of special interest to health practitioners, clinicians, health and social managers, and commissioners and innovators from the commercial sector.

It will be especially valuable if you work in health and social care as it will enable you to apply theories and approaches in your own workplace.

• Introduction to innovation: opportunity, challenge and generating ideas
• Welcome to the course and course team
• What is healthcare innovation?
• The innovation journey
• The sources of innovation
• Wrap up to Week 1
• Innovation in practice - developing, testing, and making the case
• Scoping and testing your idea
• The external context: competition and technology
• Internal context and other key factors shaping innovation
• Wrap up to Week 2
• Implementing innovation - commercialisation
• Evidencing the benefits of your innovation and defining its value
• Extracting value and securing sources of support
• Stakeholders and collaboration for innovation
• Wrap up to Week 3
• The adoption and spread of innovation
• Understand successful adoption of innovation
• Promoting a fertile environment for innovation and adoption
• Change management and spread
• Wrap up to Week 4