Yesterday I spoke at a conference organised by Reform – the think tank that argues for better and faster reform of the NHS and other public services. It highlighted the ways in which different aspects of the NHS and other health services can make disruptive innovations to improve their outcomes for fewer resources. Of course much of the conference spoke about specific innovations that could both save money and improve outcomes. One of the most inspiring for me was an example from India which I quote at length below.

First I want to make a point about the notion of disruptive innovation. This is a really important idea that is being, and will be, heard about more and more as financial reality hits the NHS. In other industries disruptive innovations transform the way in which value is created by the same resource. It does this by – well the name is a giveaway – disrupting the way in which the industry works. For many in industries or services that may feel that the way in which they were doing things was alright, the reality of this disruption can be painful. At the very least they may have to radically change the way in which they work and at worst it can mean people changing their jobs.