Policy

HHS technology chief: Out with “innovation,” in with “freedom to experiment”

Innovation is a vague word and is too overused today, in the words of Bryan Sivak. That was kind of a bold statement to make at a conference focused on, well, innovation. In his keynote address at CONVERGE, the chief technology officer for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the department’s philosophy […]

By Deanna Pogorelc on July 10, 2013

Innovation is a vague word and is too overused today, in the words of Bryan Sivak.

That was kind of a bold statement to make at a conference focused on, well, innovation.

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In his keynote address at CONVERGE, the chief technology officer for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the department’s philosophy is that innovation happens as a direct result of the freedom to experiment, a much more descriptive and meaningful phrase.

“I can teach you how to experiment,” he said. “I can teach you to develop a hypothesis, to test that hypothesis, to generate metrics and to factor those metrics into the next generation of that experiment.”

And importantly, experimentation by definition also allow for failure, which is an important part of the creative process.

That’s why it’s been especially hard to implement that kind of thinking into government departments like HHS, Sivak said. He described the department, which includes the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and several other agencies, as hierarchical and siloed in terms of both geography and organizational psychology.

Infusing creativity and risk-taking into the way it operates is a work in progress. So far the efforts have included seven programs toward freedom of experimentation, including open innovation initiatives like HHSinnovates and HHSentrepreneurs.

And it’s definitely making progress. For example, last month HHS took an important step by releasing charge data for 30 out-patient procedures at hospitals nationwide.

Sivak said the department wants to hear on its website the public about other datasets it should make available.

[Image credit: KevinShockey]