Case Study: Innovation Procurement for a Digital Services Platform.

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Digital Health Innovation
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Coordinating care transitions across healthcare programs is crucial for strengthening patient outcomes.
• Traditional procurement methods may not always yield innovative or well-fitting solutions for complex healthcare challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a design contest strategy for procuring an effective solution for care transition coordination.
• To evaluate vendor fit and partnership potential for co-designing and implementing a digital solution.

Main Methods:

• A design contest was employed to solicit and evaluate potential solutions for care transition coordination.
• Vendor approaches were assessed for organizational fit and relationship-building potential.
• A consortium of Canadian companies was selected for a proof-of-concept and subsequent regional implementation.

Main Results:

• The design contest successfully identified and selected a vendor consortium for a digital care transition solution.
• A strong partnership was established for co-designing, developing, and implementing the innovative solution.
• The approach facilitated the scaling of the digital solution across the region.

Conclusions:

• A design contest is an effective strategy for procuring innovative digital health solutions for care transitions.
• Vendor partnership and co-design are key to successful implementation and scaling of healthcare innovations.
• This approach strengthened patient outcomes through improved care transition coordination.