Driving Health Innovation Forward: A Design Thinking Approach to Address Key Issues in the Health Sector

The research initiative, “Driving Health Innovation Forward: A Design Thinking Approach to Address Key Issues in the Health Sector,” was conducted with the aim of identifying and understanding healthcare and health system research problems or issues in the health sector and generating new research ideas and projects based on the identified issues. Another aim was to establish and reinforce collaborations between academia and the health sector. Design thinking methodology was employed to enable researchers with different backgrounds to produce potential solutions addressing specific issues and gaps in health and medical equipment and technology in the Philippine healthcare system. Prior to initiating the design thinking process, an industry analysis was conducted to identify trends, and specific issues and gaps in medical equipment and technology to be targeted. Key areas identified include chronic disease management specifically in diagnostics and screening, and virtual healthcare; drug repurposing; and pharmaceutical supply chain distribution. The solutions and prototypes produced through the design thinking methodology were crafted into proposals of which two successfully obtained grant funding. The experience of using design thinking methodology has shown its transformative potential in fostering innovation, collaboration, and creating impactful solutions.