The piece you’re about to read is from Klick Health’s Life (Sciences) After COVID-19 series, a collection of expert perspectives designed to inform and inspire the life sciences community for the coming changes and opportunities we anticipate as a result of this global health crisis.
The Insight
For most industries, sharing underutilized resources is nothing new. Most of us have become accustomed to sharing vehicles through Uber, rooms through Airbnb, and perhaps even fashion attire via Rent the Runway.
But does the ‘sharing economy’ serve any value in healthcare? If so, how can life sciences organizations leverage the sharing of resources to drive efficiency, productivity, and flexibility?
For the purposes of this piece, we will define ‘sharing’ as the repurposing of existing resources for alternate uses, may it be from a 3rd party or from within an existing organization
While we have seen a few examples surface during the pre-COVID-19 days—such as the Klick co-founded platform Circulation which repurposes a fleet of ride-sharing vehicles to service non-emergency medical transportation needs—most of the health industry still operates in silos, being slow to adopt shared models that cross-leverage critical resources.
Could this pandemic serve as a catalyst to accelerate the application of shared resources?
It’s been said that “necessity is the mother of invention,” but in the case of the pandemic, perhaps we could rewrite that adage as “necessity is the mother of new models of care delivery.”
If there is one lesson that stands out from this unworldly pandemic experience is that those organizations that have the ability to flex and adapt during uncertain times possess the greatest odds of not only surviving but also thriving.
Like most countries, we were vastly unprepared to handle the urgency of the COVID-19 crisis, and as such, many local facilities and state governments were left to their own devices when it came to acquiring needed resources to both flatten the curve and treat the surge of incoming COVID-19 infected patients.
When faced with dire and desperate situations, it’s no surprise that a surge of creative thinking forces us to look at the same old things in brand new ways. It makes us ask new and interesting questions such as:
Can we repurpose existing technologies, machines, materials, and resources (such as diagnostic test kits or manufacturing supply chains) for alternate, on-demand uses?
Are there hidden, underutilized resources outside of the traditional health system (such as the patient’s own home) that we can tap into?
Are current modular fixes temporary, or do they have the potential to stick beyond the pandemic?
If there is one lesson that stands out from this unworldly pandemic experience is that those organizations that have the ability to flex and adapt during uncertain times possess the greatest odds of not only surviving but also thriving. To do so requires us to think differently and look at new ways of doing old things.
The Evidence
While I pointed out earlier how Circulation serves as a pre-COVID-19 example of the creative use of shared transportation resources repurposed for nonemergency medical needs, the coronavirus pandemic era has spawned a whole new set of creative ideas applying principles of the shared economy.
Below are a few select examples we have observed during the current pandemic.
Hospitality
With few people traveling at this time, Hilton Hotels saw an opportunity to leverage its high vacancy rates by offering rooms to first responders in search of a quarantine sanctuary to prevent the unnecessary transmission of coronavirus to their families. In addition, unused convention center spaces, such as New York’s Javits Center flipped its massive facility into an emergency response and overflow center.
Ventilators
In response to the potential shortage of intensive care unit (ICU) ventilators, the American Society of Anesthesiology offered guidance on how to temporarily repurpose anesthesia machines used in operating rooms into ICU ventilators. Reportedly, several hospitals also leveraged available, onsite 3D printers to print required spare parts for ventilators.
Reimagining Creative Uses for Underutilized Resources
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Author
Gautam Gulati, MD
Medical Director
Gautam (Dr. G) Gulati is a polymath doctor who speaks, writes, teaches, advises, invests, and builds cool things. As an innovation-focused executive for the past 20+ years, Dr. G has studied, interviewed, worked for, and advised forward-thinking leaders from the world’s most recognized companies. Dr. G is currently an Innovator-in-Residence at Klick Health where he helps leaders of life sciences companies to see around corners and better understand how to innovate during uncertain times.
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