Introduction
Innovations have become useful to health care organizations since they help them to offer the best services in tandem with the laid down guidelines by the supervisory authorities. Researchers have continually indulged in extensive research work aimed at assessing the spread and sustenance of specific innovations in the delivery of health services. More importantly, emphasis has also been given to the diffusion of the innovations in the health care settings with a specific interest in the process and the transferability of the innovation into policy change (Greenhalgh et al, 2004, p. 581). This has resulted in several factors being brought forward as prerequisites for innovations to firmly take root in the organisations. This paper will look into the factors that should be taken into account in the development of innovations in order to ensure a successful and maintained adoption.
Factors
The systematic review of the behaviors and routines that are essential in influencing health outcomes was vital in the understanding of the factors responsible for the sustained change. Empirical studies have shown that there are key attributes that depict whether an innovation will be adopted and sustained. According to Greenhalgh et al, the relative advantage offered by the innovation is imperative since it brings savings and efficiency to the organization (2004, p. 583-586). Furthermore, the achieved benefits from the innovation depicted by direct evidence provide the impetus for the management to push for its implementation. The relative advantage confers the proponents a strong foundation to build on their argument thereby making the opponents support the initiative.
Innovations must be compatible with the values of the organization and address the perceived needs of the adopters for them to be taken up and sustained in the long term. Compatibility with strong organizational norms such as efficiency and accountability is paramount for faster integration into the setting. In this regard, the introduction of information communication and technology in a hospital must serve to bolster the efficiency in communication needed by the institution. This is in tandem with Greenhalgh et al assertion that compatibility forms the basis for assimilation of innovations (2004, P.583). Efficiency in UK hospitals is bolstered by the application of information communication in the overall handling of patients and hospital records. Improvements are observed in the handling of medical procedures and satisfaction has been observed in National Health Service-run hospitals.
On the other hand, Becker noted that overemphasis on the routines is imperative in the understanding of the workings of the organizations and economy at large (2004, p. 652). Health care organizations must realize the need of embedding the routines in the structural setting of the organization. Contextualizing the routines act as a strong complementary while specificity leads to the loss of transferability of the routines especially to other contexts. Consideration of the routines and their effects on the structures and cognitive aspects of an organization was observed in the National Health Service case. In this regard, the application of several routines by health care providers has always produced mixed results with positive impacts and limitations witnessed depending on the context. The NHS has utilized the services of experienced professionals in the management of their telephone services as a routine thereby ensuring the patients receive the best treatment advice at all times. This serves as an example of an effective routine that has the advantage of bringing coordination and control in an organization while maximizing the overall performance in terms of governance and cognition (Becker, 2004, p.653-656). This is in line with the path dependency upon which routine change occurs (Robert, Greenhalgh, MacFarlane & Peacock, 2009, p.91-94).
The complexity of the innovation must also be considered largely because the simper the innovation is, the faster its adoption. Strong empirical evidence has shown that demonstrations and practical experience have been utilized to reduce the perceived complexity in the organizations. Introducing the innovation in stages will enhance its uptake and eventual assimilation. Organizations integrate the innovations in their setting through an incremental basis whereby it is introduced at the departmental level before upscaling it to cover the whole organization. The introduction of information communication technology in UK hospitals was made successful through regular training of the health care workers. The use of aids and simple procedures was instrumental in changing the attitude towards innovation. The institutions instituted these measures on realising the complexity of the innovation.
The trialability of the innovation must be checked before its initiation. Research has depicted that the innovations that offer limitations on experimentation are more likely to be assimilated. In this regard, the organizations implemented and tested information and communication technologies that have proved a success in other health care institutions. In this regard, health care organizations usually set up friendly environments for the client. Furthermore, capacity building of the affected individuals or groups to equip them with the necessary expertise and knowledge in the running or management of the innovation is also vital. For instance, a section of team leaders is acquainted with a new system where they codify the message before passing it down to the juniors. This ensures everyone has an opportunity to acquire the requisite expertise and competency thereby delivering quality health care to the clients (Greenhalgh et al, 2004, p. 581).
The strengthening of leadership and management in readiness for the initiation of the innovation is crucial for speedy adoption and assimilation. Improvement in the decision-making and relations among the various players make it imperative for a common stand to be achieved. For instance, managers in health care institutions were regularly trained on the improvements and sustenance of technological innovation as avenues of increasing efficiency. The NHS offers leadership training aimed at reinforcing the decision-making and appraisal skills of the managers. This helps them come up with a specific monitoring schedule for the improvement of the performance of patients and staff (Robert et al, 2009, p.124-130).
Conclusion
Innovations have become inevitable in the dynamic environment that health care organizations operate. The formation of a comprehensive body of organizations with the mandate of organizing future research activities through the cross-analysis of available cases will enhance the sustenance of the initiatives. Planning for effective adoption and assimilation of these changes has to be carried out. In this regard, organizations need to initiate simple, compatible, and smart innovations.
Reference list
Becker, M.C. 2004. Organisational routines: a review of the literature. Industrial and Corporate change, Vol. 13, No. 4, pp. 643-677.
Greenhalgh, T., G. Robert, F. MacFarlane, P. Bate & O. Kyriakidou. 2004. Diffusion of Innovations in service organisations: systematic review and recommendations. Oxford: Blackwell.
Robert, G., T. Greenhalgh, F., MacFarlane, P. Bate & O. Kyriakidou, 2009, Organisational factors influencing technology adoption and assimilation in the NHS: a systematic literature review. Southampton: National Institute For Health Research Evaluations, Trials And Student Coordinating Centre.