Interdisciplinary Junior Research Group InnoTech4Health
Table of contents
Issue: Clinical Development and Implementation of Innovative Medical Technology
Background
New and innovative health technologies and processes are increasingly becoming more important. These innovations not only offer the potential to increase the lifetime and quality of living and thus scale up patients‘ benefits, they also provide the possibility to shape the whole healthcare system more efficiently. However, these advantages of innovative treatment methods are confronted with the restricting fact that new medical technologies are allegedly the biggest cost drivers and are responsible for the increased health expenditures in the industrialised countries. In order to cope with the resulting strategic challenges for hospitals and healthcare providers, an efficient technology management is inevitable. In that respect, it is not only the Saxon health economy that has to face enormous challenges. Besides the insufficient practical application, the research area of healthcare technology management has attracted too little attention scientifically, in spite of the evident relevance. In various disciplines, particularly promising starting points already exist. Nevertheless, a systematic approach is lacking.
Objective
The Junior Research Group InnoTech4Health aims to investigate the processes of technology management in hospitals and the product development of healthcare providers as well as optimise these processes through the adaption to new strategic challenges. Through the conjunction of competences of several specialties and adequate staff training, the demand of interdisciplinary experts, especially for the Saxon health economy, will be addressed.
Research Approach
Within the scope of their multidisciplinary scientific work, the junior researchers analyse the procurement, implementation, and usage of technology so as to deduce a specific guidance for the optimisation of the overall process. Consequently, InnoTech4Health plays a part in contributing to increasing the companies’ potentials for success as well as the health care providers’ performance. The theoretical emphasis focusses on multi-stakeholder and low-end innovation approaches as well as considerations about sustainability.
The methodological and contextual focus is defined by the interdisciplinary collaboration of scientific fields like economic sciences, engineering, medicine, and architecture. Additional networking emerges by involving various research institutions, hospitals, and healthcare providers domestically and internationally.
Leadership
Dr. Sebastian Gurtner (Projectleader), Chair of Entrepreneuership and Innovation
Researcher
- M.Sc. Christin Seifert
- Dipl.-Wi.-Ing. Yardena Gerlach
Partner
- Chair of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, TU Dresden
- Chair of Environmental Management and Accounting, TU Dresden
- Centre for Health Economics, TU Dresden
Term
July 2012 - December 2014
Financing
European Social Fund (ESF)
Publication and Presentation
- Seifert, C., & Günther, E. 2014. Do hospitals consider ecological aspects in managerial decision-making? A systematic literature review. European Health Management Association Annual Conference 2014 (EHMA), June 24th-26th, 2014, Birmingham, UK. (Poster)
- Seifert, C., & Günther, E. 2014. Ökologische Beschaffung von Medizintechnik im Krankenhaus. Ökobilanzwerkstatt 2014, September 8th-10th, 2014, Dresden, Germany.
- Wolf, P., Seifert, C., & Günther, E. 2014. LCA in Krankenhäusern – Ein systematischer Review. Ökobilanzwerkstatt 2014, September 8th-10th, 2014, Dresden, Germany.
- Seifert, C., & Günther, E. 2014. Medizinische Geräte am Ende ihrer Lebensdauer – Entsorgen oder aufbereiten? VHB Herbsttagung 2014, September 25th-26th, 2014, Ilmenau, Germany.