The Sickcare Innovation Bubble Problem – Innovation Excellence

A bubble is an economic cycle characterized by the rapid escalation of asset prices followed by a contraction. It is created by a surge in asset prices unwarranted by the fundamentals of the asset and driven by exuberant market behavior. When no more investors are willing to buy at the elevated price, a massive sell-off occurs, causing the bubble to deflate.

The pattern of a bubble is pretty consistent, despite variations in how the cycle is interpreted.

A somewhat similar model is the Gartner Hype Cycle.

Some think that there is a digital health bubble, an innovation bubble, a higher ed bubble , a graduate school bubble, a law school bubble and maybe even a medical school bubble.

One report suggests that leading digital health companies have not yet demonstrated substantial impact on disease burden or cost in the US health care system. The findings indicate the importance of fostering an environment, with regard to policy and the consumer market, that encourages the development of evidence-based, high-impact products.

I believe whether you believe there is a bubble or not depends on the lens you use to see progress and how you define  and measure the outcome and impact of new things or old things done in a new way:

There might be technological bubbles, like the dot come bust or digital health froth, but I don’t think there are sick care innovation bubbles. If anything, we are just beginning to learn how to translate inventions to innovations and data to value. Given the pace of progress, many of us won’t be around to see the results, let alone hear the pop.

Like the old Chinese proverb goes, “If you want to know what water is, don’t ask the fish”

Wait! Before you go…

Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA is the President and CEO of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs at www.sopenet.org and co-editor of Digital Health Entrepreneurship