• Blended Learning & Flipped Classroom

This course teaches the fundamental concepts, theoretical frameworks, and exemplary cases to understand innovation and innovation management in health and social care. Students will get familiar with the peculiar challenges of (i) generating new products and services, (ii) collecting evidence through different clinical studies to validate them, and (iii) commercializing these innovations through original business models. Students will develop an in-depth understanding of the key challenges faced by the most relevant stakeholders in the health and social ecosystem (e.g., MedTech and pharmaceutical companies, healthcare professionals, hospital managers, regulatory agencies, etc.) that are involved in the different phases of the innovation process.

The theory will be always matched with practice, and, in this view, senior managers and professionals, international experts will join lectures to share their experience and thoughts about the next-generation health and social care. After introducing Students to a preliminary understanding of the health and social care ecosystem, lectures will cover three main topics: (i) challenges of innovation and innovation management in health and social care; (ii) assessment of health and social care innovation from a multi-perspective approach; and (iii) go-to-market strategies for health and social care innovation with a focus on institutional, out-of-pocket, and data-based (platforms) business models. The competencies developed in this course will be valuable for all Students, who are interested to practicing innovation in professional, knowledge-intensive and regulated contexts.

Expected Learning Goals

• Understand challenges, functions, processes in the health and social care ecosystem, and their mutual effects on business, economy, environment, and society
• Identify trends, technologies, key methodologies, and stakeholders’ needs in the health and social care ecosystem
• Develop new ideas and transformative solutions to deliver positive impact on business, industrial and social scenarios evolving over time (through the project work)

Topic 1 - Specificities and challenges of innovation management in health and social care

• Value-based Health Care (VBHC)
• Technology lifecycle in health and social care
• Focus on medical devices and digital therapeutics: challenges and peculiarities
• Theories of diffusion and acceptance/adoption in health and social care
• Evidence-Based Management (EBMgmt) in Healthcare and performance improvement

Topic 2 - Assessment of health and social care innovation

• Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and Cost-Utility Analysis (CUA)
• Investment vs. Disinvestment in health and social care
• Hospital strategies about innovation and new technologies
• Technology Assessment in Hospitals (HBHTA): goals, organizational configurations, methods, performance

Topic 3: Go-to-market strategies for health and social care innovation

• Market Access and regulatory challenges
• Real-World Evidence (RWE)
• Business models in health and social care: institutional, out-of-pocket, and freemium (platforms)

This course is open to all Students, without specific requirements. Students will get familiarity with health and social care in the first lectures.   

The course will be delivered by means of face-to-face lectures. During the semester, Students will work in small teams on a project work about innovation in health and social care in collaboration with either hospitals or pharmaceutical/biomedical companies. The grade in the project work will account for the 50% of the final grade. Students with motivated needs can ask for an individual essay. Finally, Students will demonstrate their understanding of the subject through an oral test, that will account for the remaining 50% of the final grade.