Many healthcare innovations fail after the pilot phase due to numerous causes like: lack of funding, knowledge and confidence or legislation thwarting. How care you for a sustainable adoption of your innovation? Databureau Pipple gives tips based on the successful planning tool it developed for home careorganization Tzorg.
At home care organization Tzorg nearly twelve thousand domestic support workers and attendants work, providing assistance to some sixty thousand people in the Netherlands. All those workers move from home to client, client to client, and home again. That requires a lot of travel time and Tzorg believes it is important that every available minute is spent optimally on care.
Preventing unnecessary travel time among healthcare providers
Kos Fourkiotis, Manager Innovation at Tzorg, tells: "Imagine you are a domestic support worker and you live downtown. You go on Mondays to visit Jip who lives in the north, and then you drive south to help Anna. The next day you start at Anna's sister's house who also lives in the south, and then you drive north again to help Freek. By combining routes more intelligently, we avoid unnecessary travel time. But such a process for sixty thousand addresses, is complex."
People, planet and profit
Pipple is a data agency with a team of mathematicians and engineers that specializes in solving such complex problems through data and AI. Jeroen de Haas, founder and CEO, describes Pipple as creative and open-minded, with a focus on people, planet and profit.
Joep van den Tillaart, partner at Pipple, adds, "Our goal is to use math and creativity to make the world a little nicer. In doing so, we sometimes find solutions that our own brains could not have thought of." The planning tool at Tzorg is a case in point.
Also read: Answers to questions about AI in healthcare
From 'in the head' to capturing in data
The first step was to make an analysis. Van den Tillaart: "This showed that a lot of information was only in the planners' heads. For example, the planning tool came up with solutions that the planners already saw were not the best idea." One example is that caregiver Karel, who is allergic to dogs, was paired with client Kees, with dog. "Through our conversations with the planners, we found out what data is relevant to efficiently calculate routes between clients."
So Pipple added allergies and pets to the data. "What's in just your head you can't automate. By capturing all the information in data, you can let the computer solve the puzzle. Without human interaction," Van den Tillaart said.
Importance of change management
After the AI tool is developed, the key is to implement it successfully and sustainably. Van den Tillaart: "A large part consists of change management. How do you get the organization and clients to go along with the new daily routine? Everyone has a certain way of working, a route that is taken every day, and then suddenly things have to be completely different. You have to communicate about that. To clients, but also internally. Making something beautiful that nothing is done with, is a waste."
De Haas agrees during the master class "Entrepreneurship with data and AI in healthcare" he recently gave at Dutch Health Hub. "Building and transferring something externally doesn't work if there is no capacity internally to develop it further." Monitoring and adjustment is therefore necessary, according to De Haas. "Legislation, technology and business processes are constantly changing. You're never ready."
Also read: Jeroen de Haas on AI in healthcare: 'if you have to, you can'
Is there a need for change?
Pipple focuses on customers who have a problem and require a solution. But according to Fourkiotis, the interesting thing about AI is precisely that companies don't have to have a problem at all. "If Tzorg and Pipple had not entered into this innovation, everyone would have been happy too. But it is a waste to miss the opportunities of AI because the need for change is not felt." Therefore, he also advocates entering the conversation and seeing what is possible. "Because in no need for change, also contains a lot of value".
Make small steps and be patient
The more complex the change, the more time it takes, according to Van den Tillaart. He emphasizes making small steps. "Start by listening, hearing examples and letting them sink in. Then draw, discover and slowly build this into a big change. It's a process that takes time."
Also read: Why many healthcare innovations fail: the power of hidden interests
Future of AI in healthcare
The scheduling tool for Tzorg has proven successful. Employees spend less time in traffic, spend more care time with their clients and, as a bonus, save on resources and gasoline costs.
Finally, Fourkiotis challenges organizations to experiment more with AI. Where can you use smart computing power or formulas to help make people happier and prevent problems? "In the case of Tzorg that was about reduction in travel time but it can be done in other areas as well. It's a waste not to do it."
