Healthcare Innovation and Entrepreneurship

This interdisciplinary course focuses on sustainable innovation, introducing entrepreneurial students to the realities of problem identification and solution design within the complex world of healthcare.

About the Course

Healthcare Innovation and Entrepreneurship applies a focused approach toward sustainable healthcare innovation. Students will be introduced to definitions and concepts that include the innovation process, design thinking, “intrapreneurship,” entrepreneurship, six sigma principles of process improvement, regulatory issues, patent law, and the market forces that impact the healthcare innovation process. All students will gain confidence in the basic elements of the initial discovery phase in the healthcare innovation process, including

1. Defining and describing key components of the healthcare innovation process.
2. Becoming aware of challenges to the quality of healthcare delivery and the opportunity for improved patient care and cost reductions.
3. Learning and practicing a step-by-step “needs finding” process and a “needs filtering” process for identifying and prioritizing real clinical problems and opportunities for innovation.
4. Developing cross-disciplinary collaboration skills.
5. Strengthening communication and leadership skills in advocating health systems change.

About the Instructor(s)

Bob Barnes, Ph.D., has focused on new product development across a broad range of industries and disciplines: pharmaceuticals, medical devices, information technology, energy, automotive, and construction. During the last two years, Barnes has supported the Pratt School of Engineering with teaching in the Masters of Engineering Management Program (MEMP) and the Biomedical Engineering Department. Working with a number of practitioners in the Duke University School of Medicine Department of Surgery, he developed and delivers the highly demanded course, Biomedical Device Innovation. He is currently working with the School of Nursing on the development of a similar course focusing on process, procedures, and devices for delivery of nursing care. In conjunction with Dr. Larry Boyd he delivers two additional innovation and entrepreneurial focused courses: Introduction to Business in Technology Based Companies and its MEMP companion, Leading Multi-functional High Tech Teams.
Marilyn M. Lombardi, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and Director of Duke University’s Center of Nursing Collaboration, Entrepreneurship & Discovery (CONCEPT), the hub for the Duke School of Nursing’s signature initiative to promote creative, relevant and robust innovations in healthcare practice, education and research. Lombardi is an experienced entrepreneur in the private sector, having helped in the late 1990s to found a venture-capitalized software company (ViOS, Inc.) that pioneered the use of massively multiuser gaming environments as a means of navigating the ever-expanding information landscape of the Internet. Prior to joining the Duke University School of Nursing, Lombardi served as Director of the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) Engagement Center at Duke, a supercomputing center and research incubator for deploying advanced technologies to enable research discoveries and practical innovations. She has received funding support from the National Science Foundation and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to further her own research in human-computer interaction and the strategic use of emerging technologies for learning, collaboration and simulation.

Course Syllabus

Week One: Innovating in healthcareIntroductions with an overview of how to identify problems in need of a solution within complex healthcare environments; vocabulary for talking about healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship, and systems thinking. Week Two: Finding what's needed How to prioritize, select and refine identified problems that can be tackled in a real-world environment through applied science. Week Three: Prioritizing needs We provide a process for identifying the currently available solutions in the market and for researching/analyzing the size of the remaining market. Week Four: Sizing up the market  We focus on our “freedom to operate,” or our ability to develop solutions within a host of existing constraints, which include the regulatory environment, the legal environment, the organizational policies and procedures in place, and our organizational culture. Week Five: Designing an innovation We consider the issues that arise with real-world deployment of an innovative solution, including questions of finance, business, work processes, and quality. Week Six: Gaining commitment Finally, we focus our attention on selling our solution, finding support while protecting intellectual property rights.

Recommended Background

Students should have an appreciation for healthcare and its challenges, but otherwise there are no prerequisites for the course.

Suggested Readings

Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen, Clayton Christensen. 2011. The Innovator's DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators Harvard Business Review Press (optional).

Course Format

The class will consist of lecture videos, which are between 10 and 15 minutes in length. Standalone homework will be used to emphasize key points across one or more of the course units.

FAQ

• Will I get a Statement of Accomplishment after completing this class?

  Yes. Students who successfully complete the class will receive a Statement of Accomplishment signed by the instructor.

• What is the coolest thing I'll learn if I take this class?

  You’ll discover your potential as an innovative entrepreneur.

Provided by:

University: Duke University

Instructor(s): Bob Barnes, Marilyn M. Lombardi