“Reverse Innovation” Could Save Lives. Why Aren't We Embracing It?

In 2020, Nigeria's Rural Electrification Agency installed a 50-kilowatt solar-hybrid system at Gombe State Specialist Hospital, providing uninterrupted electricity to critical units, including the ICU and emergency departments. Since its installation, maternal mortality dropped from 15-20 deaths monthly to 1-2 per month, and neonatal deaths also decreased from 50 to 20-25 monthly. The system has also helped healthcare workers perform life-saving surgeries without interruption, as these surgeries were often delayed or impossible due to power outages.

To address maternal mortality, drapes with volume markings are being used to manage life-threatening bleeding after birth. The drapes collect the blood and are marked with measurements so healthcare workers can monitor blood loss and interfere and provide care before it’s too late. The drapes were tested in 78 hospitals throughout the country between August 2021 and the end of 2022 and allowed healthcare workers to interfere with excessive bleeding in time for 90% of patients.

The Zipline drone system helps deliver life-saving medical supplies, such as blood and antivenom, to areas in the country that are hard to reach due to issues with the terrain, infrastructure or extreme weather. Since launching, Zipline has made more than one million deliveries.

To address gaps in healthcare access, the local government partnered with organizations like Plan International, German Cooperation and the World Bank’s Saving One Million Lives Project to build, refurbish and equip primary healthcare centers across the state to provide better care. As of May 2023, 138 centers have been built or upgraded, offering maternity care services, child healthcare, vaccinations and family planning among other services.

Emergency Response Africa connects patients with first responders, ambulances and emergency-ready hospitals so they can get the care they need as quickly as possible. A 24-hour command center that can be reached by phone or mobile app dispatches the emergency response team of trained paramedics, which then brings the patient to one of the 82 verified emergency hospitals. Since it was established in 2021, Emergency Response Africa has received 1,243 emergency calls.

High-tech drones from the organization Zipline are delivering medical supplies — from vaccinations to blood and other necessary equipment — to hospitals in traditionally hard to reach areas. The drones can make an hour long trip in 10 to 30 minutes, making the delivery service a valuable tool in emergency situations.

Intermountain Healthcare implemented an opioid reduction plan as part of Utah’s statewide ‘Know Your Script’ initiative. The plan, which includes an opioid-free surgery program that utilizes nerve blockers and non-opioid pain medications, has led to 11 million fewer opioid prescriptions. While not all surgeries can be performed this way, it has given recovering addicts a treatment alternative. The healthcare system also educates medical staff on ways to reduce opioid prescriptions and empowers patients to tell their providers that they do not want opioids.

A large number of hospital closures pushed the remaining obstetrics chiefs to work together to maintain safe and accessible maternity care, especially for low-income and English as a second language community members. The consortium shared best practices and established easily transferrable common electronic medical records. Hospitals triaged patients by needs and transferred them if needed, rather than prioritizing income generation and competition. Doctors practiced a “laborist” model where they were assigned to be on the labor and delivery floor rather than follow a particular caseload of patients.

Hospitals in Sweden have one of the lowest counts of ICU beds throughout Europe, but when Covid-19 began to spread, the country doubled their number of intensive care beds in preparation. Although hospitals took their own unique approach to achieving this, commonalities between each approach included reallocating space, investing in new or repurposing existing equipment, and "hospital staff going above and beyond normal duties."

Instead of letting a rural Kansas hospital perish, one CEO found a way to recruit young physicians, and get grants for the hospital. His methods helped the hospital avoid the common fate many rural hospitals face, which are often forced to shut down. It “now serves about 20,000 patients annually, up from roughly 10,000 patients in 2012, and generated $23.4 million in revenue last year.”