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A Systems Approach to Healthcare Innovation Using the MIT Hacking Medicine Model
Tatyana A Gubin1, Hari P Iyer2, Shirlene N Liew3
1MIT Hacking Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1 Amherst Street, Building E40-160, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Building 3-173, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA, USA.
Abstract:
MIT Hacking Medicine is a student, academic, and community-led organization that uses systems-oriented "healthcare hacking" to address challenges around innovation in healthcare. The group has organized more than 80 events around the world that attract participants with diverse backgrounds. These participants are trained to address clinical needs from the perspective of multiple stakeholders and emphasize utility and implementation viability of proposed solutions. We describe the MIT Hacking Medicine model as a potential method to integrate collaboration and training in rapid innovation techniques into academic medical centers. Built upon a systems approach to healthcare innovation, the time-compressed but expertly guided nature of the events could enable more widely accessible preliminary training in systems-level innovation methodology, as well as creating a structured opportunity for interdisciplinary congregation and collaboration.
