An InnoVisit to Denmark

I've had a personal affection for Denmark since I was a baby, when my mother brought me there to visit her sister-in-law and my two cousins. I will have to dig up the baby pictures for another post! In 2008, I reconnected with my cousins in Copenhagen and have made several visits since. I also spent my vacations in Denmark talking to citizens about the Danish healthcare system and making comparisons it to the U.S. healthcare system.

The Danish system,  undergoing changes of its own and leaning towards more cost-sharing for individuals, is a system that provides healthcare for all. Denmark healthcare system focuses around primary care first and then specialists visits. The U.S. has caught on, realizing that so many conditions can be prevented, treated and managed by prioritizing primary care.

I had given this presentation to strategy leaders at a major hospital in New York. I wanted to give them fresh perspective and inspiration by presenting some information on Innovisits and the Danish healthcare system.  Although, there are distinct differences between our healthcare systems, we can be inspired and bring some (big and small) innovations back from Denmark. 

I must say that I have been enamored with this word, "Innovisit." I first heard it from Diane Stover-Hopkins, a panelist on the Innovation and Technology panel at the Becker's Annual Revenue Cycle and IT conference in Chicago about 2 years ago. I always knew what an innovisit was but had never heard the term until the conference. In graduate school, I studied the Virginia Mason case of implementing the Toyota Production System from Japan and the creation of Health City Cayman Islands (HCCI), a partnership between Ascension Health and Narayana Hospital in India.  

​After doing some digging, I found an article from HBR highlighting steps to bring outside innovations into healthcare. This fascinated me and I became excited about the concept because so often we hear about the "silos" in healthcare. The silos run deep. So, how do we over come this? Check out my presentation and shoot me an email if you would like to discuss more.