Fostering a Culture of Innovation Through Creativity

At the heart of health care is service, be it in-person such as in clinics and hospitals, online, or through hybrid means. Service design in this sector needs to consider several stakeholders from patients (customers) through doctors, nurses, attendants, support personnel, pharmacists, ambulance drivers, and others. Added to this are equipment and technologies that support healthcare services. Population growth, an aging society, climate change, and rapid technology growth as well as health care going beyond the physical to mental health require constant innovation in service design. Innovation requires concerted effort and investment in terms of people, facilities, tools, and equipment. It has been well established by researchers and practitioners that creativity provides the ideas that can be converted to valuable innovation through a process which requires more than creativity alone. Both creativity and innovation have distinct cultures, and when they combine together, bring about innovation. This chapter defines creativity and innovation before discussing the distinct cultures and how innovation can be nurtured through the right people with the right environment and leadership. The discussions will be supported by appropriate examples to support the discussions.