Staying Nimble With Innovation From the Frontlines

In today’s quickly evolving health care environment, everybody has to be innovating. Union workers, managers and physicians are coming up with and trying out new ideas—from virtual dermatology assists to mini-clinics inside retail stores. These innovations help keep Kaiser Permanente at the top of its game and secure the future of the organization and the employees. Even when an experiment doesn’t work out, testing and trying new approaches help us learn.

Here's What Worked

• Deploying smartphones in primary care clinics so care givers can take photos of skin rashes for dermatologists to diagnose
• Opening mini-clinics in retail stores staffed by nurse practitioners to provide routine care for both KP health plan members and non-members, many of whom did not have health insurance prior to the Affordable Care Act
• Rejecting a new texting technology at a labor and delivery department when employees, managers and physicians concluded cellular reception in their building couldn’t support it—and not becoming discouraged.

What can your team do to identify and understand the changes happening in your workplace? What else could your team do to get ready now and build skills for tomorrow?