The HSE has published a new Framework for Health Innovation. The first of its kind, the framework aims to enable, support and govern innovation across Ireland’s health and social care system. It aims to strategically support, enable, and manage innovation, as well as ensuring that innovation is a normal part of daily work. It is designed to ensure that innovation is supported throughout its entire lifecycle – from a simple idea to a fully implemented solution, with strong leadership at all levels.
The framework was developed in collaboration with innovators across the HSE, academic institutions, and industry specialists, with input from the Department of Health, Health Innovation Hub Ireland, HealthTech Ireland, and the Irish Platform for Patient Organisations, Science and Industry (IPPOSI).
Commissioned jointly by the HSE’s Chief Technology and Transformation Officer (CTTO) and Chief Clinical Officer (CCO), the strategy is based on six guiding principles – workforce enablement; monitoring, evaluation and learning; policies and funding; communication and culture; partnership and ecosystem; and digital and data infrastructure.
However, the document explicitly excludes governance and accountability for the design of models of care, clinical guidelines and clinical pathways, which continue to reside with the National Clinical Programmes under existing governance arrangements.
HSE CTTO, Damien McCallion, said: “For the first time, every HSE staff member, every region, and every partner organisation has a shared innovation roadmap, one built with them, not imposed upon them. This is how we future-proof Irish healthcare.”
Professor Richard Greene, HSE Chief Clinical Information Officer (CCIO), added: “We are not short of innovation in the HSE, we are short of consistent pathways to scale it, and too many good ideas never move beyond pilot. This Framework provides the structure, governance and shared vision needed to reduce the loss of valuable innovations, reduce the effort on less valuable projects and maximise the impact of innovation effort across the entire health service.”
Susan Treacy, CEO, HealthTech Ireland, said: “HealthTech Ireland welcomes the HSE’s Framework for Health Innovation as a significant step towards delivering coordinated, system-wide innovation. Through the National Health Collaboration Council, there was strong and robust engagement to progress this work through cross-sector working sessions and bringing international insights to help strengthen the framework.
“This framework creates a more unified pathway for SMEs and innovators, reducing fragmentation and helping ensure solutions can be assessed, adopted and scaled more effectively across the health system. We congratulate the HSE and look forward to supporting their work on delivering innovation value to the system and patients.”
Next priorities include establishing robust governance structures at national, regional, and local levels. The HSE will begin embedding the Innovation Lifecycle set out in the document into organisational processes and planning cycles, as well as building workforce capability and “fostering a culture of psychological safety for innovation”. The framework also promises to strengthen evaluation frameworks and system learning mechanisms.
