Disruptive Innovation Requires New Entrants

Part Two

Early in the formation of IndUShealth, we were contacted by Clay Christensen of Harvard Business School to explore the dynamics of how our new model of global healthcare/medical tourism may be serving as a catalyst for disruptive innovation for the US healthcare system.

As explained in his popular The Innovators Dilemma, the disruptive innovation theory is that innovation-intensive industries regularly undergo major changes and cycling of industry leadership. New entrants challenge industry leaders with low-cost technologies to achieve better performance, and force the incumbents to undergo organizational change.

The US healthcare system has been remarkably resistant to innovation, with the same industry leaders from a generation ago in generally the same, moribund position. Disruptive innovation requires new entrants, and the US healthcare market has managed to neutralize challenges presented by any newcomers.

Rather than focus on any frustrating attempts to try and integrate the innovations from Indian hospitals in to the US healthcare system, it seemed much easier to extract the US patient from the inefficient high cost system and place them in an environment where they are welcome.

Patients who are motivated by pain and financial distress routinely think outside the US healthcare box...and are rewarded with superior healthcare value in India.