A life cycle model of continuous clinical process innovation

The changing healthcare environment has created a sense of urgency for cont inuous innovation in clinical care processes. Managers and clinicians are i nvesting unprecedented funds and energy in the development of various clini cal process innovations (CPI) such as clinical pathways, electronic worksta tions, and various forms of information technology. While increasing attent ion has been paid to the development of such initiatives, our understanding of how best to disseminate and ensure their use is limited. In this first of two articles dealing with the dissemination and use of CPI in integrated delivery systems, we present a "life cycle" model of the dis semination process and suggest opportunities for managing CPI. The manageme nt of CPI requires more than just an understanding of the factors that may facilitate or impede its implementation and use. Managers require an unders tanding of the actual process so that they can assess the specific implemen tation stage at which the organization is presently operating, and design a ppropriate interventions that can affect the process. A furture article wil l identify the factors that facilitate and inhibit the process and suggest some intervention strategies.