Director in Region Midtjylland: “We want the same thing”

Does the word ‘ecosystem’ take you back to the biology classroom? In Health Innovation Aarhus, we use it to describe the network of healthcare players who all work to promote innovation in the healthcare system – as a connection between people, companies, and knowledge that work with and through each other.

For Thomas Larsen, who is Director and Head of Corporate Management in Region Midtjylland, being a large player in an ecosystem comes with certain obligations: As an organization, you need to be aware of your own role and responsibility in the ecosystem. In a field with great societal importance – and with many stakeholders.

“Seeing yourself as part of an ecosystem is a mindset. Neither hospitals, municipalities, companies, nor educational institutions are deserted islands in the health innovation ocean. The healthcare system is deeply interwoven – just like organisms in a biological ecosystem. That’s why it’s crucial that we know and utilize each other’s competencies if we want to succeed in creating better conditions for our patients and employees through innovation,” says Thomas Larsen.

Region Midtjylland is one of the initiators behind the partnership Health Innovation Aarhus, which brings together the ecosystem for healthcare innovation in the central part of Denmark. Here, there is a shared ambition to strengthen the connections between stakeholders and solve the healthcare system’s challenges by drawing on each other’s competencies.

We need each other

Hospitals and municipalities need educational institutions to continue recruiting skilled clinicians. They must work together so that citizens encounter a unified healthcare system. Companies need to know the healthcare system’s challenges to deliver effective solutions they can also profit from. Clinicians need new methods and tools to handle the increasing number of patients. Educational institutions must develop knowledge and competencies that fit the reality clinicians face.

… and the list goes on. Because as stakeholders in the healthcare field, we are closely connected.

But that’s not an easy job. Especially when working procedures and incentives for collaboration and partnership differ. But a healthy ecosystem should be able to handle that, says Thomas Larsen:

“Fundamentally, we want the same thing, whether we come from the public healthcare system, educational institutions, or the private businesses: to create better treatment for patients. That companies must make money from the collaboration is only natural. In the same way, it’s natural that we as a healthcare system, besides improving treatment, also want to save money by collaborating on solutions that can free up time for healthcare personnel. I believe the key to collaborating, despite different incentives, is transparency and trust.”

But transparency and trust doesn’t arise automatically just because you happen to be near each other geographically. It grows out of a long-standing tradition of cooperation and partnership, a willingness to break down prejudices, and being honest and open about challenges and needs. Organisations in our region are good at this, but we can develop even further, says Thomas Larsen.

“There is still a need for clearer frameworks so that more innovative solutions can benefit the healthcare system and patients. By frameworks, I mean there must be better infrastructure – a highway, if you will – that makes it easier to participate in innovation projects on both small and large scales, and for both companies and the public healthcare system. We need to become even better at collaborating with companies and giving them access to needs and knowledge, so together we can meet the significant needs and challenges in our clinics.”

Serious challenges must be met with visionary perspectives and big ambitions

The serious prospects for the healthcare system get a lot of attention in the news: more sick and elderly people, fewer hands, and smaller budgets. As co-responsible for the hospitals’ operations, this obviously occupies a large part of Thomas Larsen’s work.

“The solution to major challenges requires the sharpest minds – and fortunately, we have many of those in our region. They belong to students, researchers, business developers, doctors, nurses, administrators, directors, IT professionals, and engineers – just to name a few.”

Additionally, the speed and quality of technological development within healthcare data and the use of artificial intelligence in the healthcare system mean that Thomas Larsen dares to have great ambitions for the healthcare system – also in the future.

“We need solutions we don’t even know yet. Where, with the help of technology, we get better tools for decision support, diagnosis, and prevention. It’s a necessity if we’re to improve and develop our healthcare system. That’s why it’s good that the Danish government has made a new life science strategy, that makes it clear that innovation must be a core task for the healthcare system on par with treatment, education, and research. If we are to succeed in that, we simply must move even closer together.”

The right first steps

Within Health Innovation Aarhus, Region Midtjylland has launched trial project for how to address one of the healthcare system’s major challenges: there are too many unnecessary outpatient visits to hospitals. It’s a waste of both citizens’ and staff’s time – and of society’s money.

“With this project, we’re trying to involve companies early on – before we even know what process or solution is the right one for us. So that we can have a dialogue about challenges and needs before we start formulating possible products. We need more perspectives on these matters. And that’s why we look to the ecosystem and ask: how do you think we should approach this?”

Although the work on the challenges in the Health Innovation Aarhus partnership is still at an early stage, it testifies to what happens when the right stakeholders meet in the same space with shared ambitions.

An easy question

When Thomas Larsen is asked why Region Midtjylland is part of Health Innovation Aarhus, the answer is clear:

“That’s an easy question. We are part of Health Innovation Aarhus because we need to work with others in the ecosystem to develop the new solutions that will help ensure and improve our shared welfare and healthcare system in the future.”