‘The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in rapid shifts in the way health care was being delivered, but little is known about the factors that enabled innovation to occur,’ says Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association (AHHA) Acting Chief Executive Kylie Woolcock.
A perspectives brief, What enabled health service innovation during the pandemic? Crisis, staff, system, or management? published today by the AHHA’s Deeble Institute for Health Policy Research discusses the key enablers of innovative allied health models of care and practice changes within Queensland’s publicly funded health services during the pandemic preparedness phase.
‘The brief draws on interviews with 28 health professionals conducted by the Allied Health Professions’ Office of Queensland (AHPOQ) and identifies three key innovation enablers: adaptive management style, devolved authority structures and trust in staff capability,’ says Ms Woolcock.
‘These enablers require ‘unlearning’ past assumptions and practices, and letting go long-held beliefs, which can constrain innovation.
‘The brief highlights the importance of openness to change. Rather than disruption being viewed as a risk and threat, we need to reframe concerns about changes to traditional models and focus on the clinical governance required for high-quality and safe health care.
‘As we have witnessed during the pandemic, letting go of ‘the way we‘ve always done things’ can be a force for constructive and positive change.’
