The Need for Health Care Innovation Training in Medical Education

The rapid transformation of the health care landscape requires physicians to not only be skilled clinically but also navigate and lead a highly dynamic, innovation-driven environment. This also provides an avenue for physicians to significantly enhance their ability to help their patients, through participation in health innovation projects. Despite this growing need and opportunity, few medical schools provide formal training in innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E). In this perspective, we examine the need for I&E education in medical curricula by exploring student interest, effective program models, and implementation strategies. To better understand medical student interest in innovation and willingness to participate in I&E programs during medical school, we surveyed 480 medical students at our institution, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and received 90 responses with a 19% response rate. We observed a strong interest in health care I&E, with 97% (87/90) of respondents valuing knowledge or experience in I&E and 63% (56/90) expressing intent to incorporate I&E into their careers. To assess the real-world impact of I&E education on medical professionals, we surveyed 12 alumni of the Johns Hopkins Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design (CBID) Master's program who had also completed medical school. Graduates reported that their experiences cultivated transferable skills-design thinking, interdisciplinary collaboration, and leadership-that shaped their professional trajectories. We propose three models for incorporating I&E education into existing medical curricula-short-term workshops, one-year gap programs, and longitudinal tracks-and discuss their advantages and trade-offs. Early and structured exposure to I&E education in medical school empowers students to identify unmet clinical needs, collaborate across disciplines, and develop real-world solutions. As the pace of innovation continues to accelerate, integration of I&E education into medical curricula offers a timely opportunity for medical schools to cultivate physician leaders in this space.