I particularly liked Reading 4: Disruptive Innovation in Healthcare by Clayton Christensen, John Kenagy. (Disruptive tech! I had talked about it in my individual presentation last week, in the context of the media industry.)
It basically talks about Disruptive Technology in the healthcare industry. There was an interesting example of low cost x-rays, which uses technology borrowed from night vision technology which originated from the military. This shows creative use of technology where a link is drawn to address a particular area of need, which is different from the original intended use.
However, particularly for the healthcare industry, it is harder for such Disruptive Technologies to develop. Due to the high barriers to entry in the market structure, the big players are reluctant to invest in such technology as it threatens to topple their original business model. This situation highlights the importance of government intervention in the arena of healthcare, as healthcare after all achieves a social good.
However, even though such technologies may be promising, governments may often be slow to fund them, as they have to thoroughly check that they are safe and tested. This links back to the reality where regulatory authorities are afraid of failure, thus the requirement for a great deal of testing which will lead to increased costs. This adds to the already high barriers to entry that healthcare has.
Food for thought
Healthcare and Education: It has been observed that these industries have been the slowest to innovate and advance. Is it because they have been trained to be conservative? How can we create a shift in the mindsets of the people – is education, ironically, the answer?
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