Abstract

Rising healthcare costs have intensified the need for innovation within healthcare systems. While research has long examined innovation among physicians and nurses, studies focusing on Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) and Pharmacists are nascent.

This study investigates the innovation culture among AHPs and Pharmacists in Singapore’s largest healthcare cluster. It specifically examines how components of the Innovation Quotient model—Values, Behaviors, Climate, Processes, Resources, and Success—predict perceived changes in innovation.

Synopsis

Following a huge push to revitalize innovation across healthcare professionals in Singhealth, we sought to investigate how initiatives impacted innovation culture across Allied Health Professionals (AHP). We surveyed over 600 allied health professionals ranging from physiotherapists to psychologists. Based on Rao and Weintraub’s (2013) InnoQuotient model of Six Building Blocks, we found that innovation initiatives inspired a burgeoning culture of organizational renewal and innovation, with 28 new AHP-led initiatives successfully implemented via an accelerator program.

Our study found that initiatives undertaken by senior leadership have a domino effect throughout the organization, significantly influencing lower levels of the hierarchy by reinvigorating their attitudes toward innovation and encouraging them to reflect on how their skillsets can add value to healthcare. At the same time, our study highlights the importance of maintaining porous boundaries between senior management and healthcare professionals—ensuring the integrity of information while meaningfully incorporating the perspectives of healthcare professionals into decision-making.

More information and findings will be published here at a later date.