Introducing Innovations in Public Health and Health Care Delivery

In accordance with the contents and conclusions of the Salzburg Global Seminar 2011, Session 481 on Innovating for Value in Health Care Delivery, there is continuous need and possibility to introduce innovations at all levels of care within the health system, and at all levels of prevention within the contemporary concept of health care in order to search for better solutions and more efficient approaches in protecting health of the public and healthcare delivery. Innovation in public health and healthcare delivery is two-fold process: it involves creating a clear concept, vision, strategy or program for innovation, on the one hand, and successful implementation of the innovations into practice, on the other. To create or produce innovation, it is necessary that an expert or a group of experts (working as a team) possess motivation, competence and creativity. Implementation or introducing the innovation into practice is often a complex and difficult process with many obstacles and resistance of the health system to changes. Courage is indispensable in order to start the implementation. Another key segment is the coordination and management of all activities and stakeholders. It is also necessary to establish a system for evaluation of the effects including continuous monitoring of activities and changes. Finally, an essential part should be enlightenment or making the results visible. Dissemination of the achieved results, by preparing implementation reports and using the mass-media, has to go beyond the local community and stakeholders. Publishing the results, experiences and the lessons learned, in scientific peer-review journals with international visibility would emphasize cross-border learning and make them accessible to the broader professional and scientific community. It is essential to provide political and/or stakeholder support in all phases of introducing innovations. Conclusions on introducing innovations in public health and healthcare delivery will be presented through a formula and chart.