Innovation in TelemedicineBrandon M Welch, MS, PhD

Assistant Professor, Biomedical InformaticsDirector, Telehealth Research and Innovation Program

Disclosures

• Doxy.me founder and shareholder• ItRunsInMyFamily.com founder and shareholder

Clayton M. Christensen

Sustaining Innovation

Disruptive innovation

Innovation

Time

Light home users

Sustaining innovation

Disruptive innovationAverage home user

School/work users

Designers/developers

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/Fea

ture

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Use case #1: Transportation

1908 Locomobile 40 Runabout

1909 Ford Model T

Automobile growth

Use case #2: Computing

Mainframe computers

Personal Computers

Computer Growth

Use case #3: Telemedicine

Telemedicine is disruptive to traditional care

Time

Counseling

Disruptive innovationNon-serious diagnosis

Emergency situations

Surgery

Perf

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/Fea

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Telemedicine Technology

Disruptive telemedicine technology

Must be easier and cheaper than status quo

Designed for the everyday person (doctor)

Easy to use + inexpensive > features + power

You can’t drive disruption by spending a lot of money

Not a single product, several with a common theme

Complicated and expensive products will still be around

Thank you

Brandon M Welch, MS, PhD

@WelchBM

/in/welchbm

welchbm@musc.edu

Assistant Professor, Biomedical Informatics Center, MUSC

Common theme

• Inventions that change the world are disruptive• Disruptive innovations make technology simple and inexpensive -> available to

everyday person • You can’t drive disruption by spending a lot of money on expensive and complicated

technology• Disruptive inventions cause rapid change in industries, even affecting other industries • While not comparable to start, as they become more widely adopted their

capabilities catch up with and exceed previous technology• Not a single product, several with a common theme• Complicated product still available for specific use cases, but it isn’t the one that

changed the world

Telemedicine is disruptive to traditional care

Time

Perf

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/Fea

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Telemedicine potential

• Reduce costs• Increase access• Improve healthcare

• Could change the world

Why isn’t telemedicine used everywhere?

• Complicated– Requires tech support and training

• Expensive to setup and run• Limited to large healthcare

organizations using grant funding• Not patient friendly

Telemedicine is disruptive

• Going to clinic for simple

Telemedicine barriers

• Complicated• Expensive• Hard to use

When innovating telemedicine solutions

• Easy to use + inexpensive > features + power• Simple• Intuitive: no training required • Inexpensive• Leverage widely available technology (mobile, web, computers)• Complicated and expensive propriety telemedicine systems are

likely to be obsolete in a few years

Sustaining innovation

• Incremental improvements• Builds on existing technology and process• Operates within the existing business model• Make current products better, faster, stronger• User demand drives sustaining innovation• Low risk