Hospital Innovation

Working Group

We are preparing the healthcare sector to deliver advanced forms of care.

The mission of NIL IN’s Hospital Innovation Working Group is to transform the mindset of healthcare leaders in Poland. For many of them, digital transformation, implementation of new technologies, and the use of modern tools still remain an ongoing challenge.

The main task of the Hospital Innovation group is to support healthcare institutions and their staff in understanding the evolving realities of the healthcare sector and the growing demand for modern tools and solutions. Properly implemented innovations are meant to improve patients’ access to medical services and streamline the daily work not only of doctors, but of the entire medical staff.

Currently, we are seeing increased investment in the implementation of secure electronic medical records and telemedicine. For several years now, these have been key drivers of continued digitalization in Poland’s healthcare system.

According to the “World Index of Healthcare Innovation” (2021) developed by the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, Poland ranked only 29th out of 31 countries surveyed in the field of medical digitalization.

By choosing the medical profession, we must recognize that today’s world requires continuous development of our skills. Proper education — not only within our area of specialization, but also in the use of digital tools and innovations — allows us to keep pace with the times.
Our overarching goal is to increase the engagement of healthcare leaders and medical staff in seeking and implementing innovation. We also aim to raise the percentage of innovation-oriented leaders among hospital directors — and exceed the 80% threshold as soon as possible.

The healthcare sector is unique — the complexity of the healthcare system, its interdisciplinary nature, the multitude of stakeholders, and its universal scope make innovation a multifaceted, multi-stage, and long-term process.
It is worth emphasizing that innovation is not limited to advanced technologies — it also includes improved approaches to management, communication, collaboration, education, and more.

Dr Tomasz Maciejewski, MD, PhD
Leader of the Group

Innovation remains a challenge for Polish healthcare leaders.

According to the “World Index of Healthcare Innovation” report (2021) prepared by the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, Poland ranked only 29th in the field of medicine digitalization (out of 31 countries covered by the study).

Formation of the Subgroup

At the beginning of 2022, the Department for AI and Innovation was established at the Institute of Mother and Child. That same year, IMiD, together with four other public clinical institutions:

Żelazna Medical Center – St. Sophia’s Specialist Hospital in Warsaw
Provincial Specialist Children’s Hospital in Olsztyn
Polish Mother’s Memorial Health Institute,
University Children’s Clinical Hospital in Białystok

jointly organized the first Mother and Child Startup Challenge (MCSC). The aim of the initiative is to foster collaboration between startups and medical institutions, opening the door to modern technologies. Particular focus was placed on diagnostics, prevention, and treatment in pediatrics and women’s health.

These two events served as the inspiration for establishing the Hospital Innovation Working Group.

Directors and change leaders from the MCSC institutions, as well as the University Clinical Center of the Medical University of Gdańsk, were invited to join the subgroup.

The group’s efforts culminated in their active participation during the NIL IN Summit (September 15–16, 2023) and EHDIS 2025.

Medical Market Analysis and Key Challenges

The current situation in the healthcare sector — along with the demand for digitalization and technological development — clearly reveals the complexity and challenges of implementing innovation in hospitals.

The main obstacles to innovation today include:

infrastructure constraints,
policies and regulations concerning medical data,
lack of data standardization and interoperability,
lack of staff knowledge
lack of motivation and staffing for adopting new technologies
lack of tools
costs

Despite this, we are witnessing change. The pandemic period played a significant role in accelerating the adoption of new solutions, particularly the widespread use of telemedicine. Today’s needs and expectations in healthcare drive investment in electronic medical records and telehealth, as well as simple innovations that streamline the daily work of medical personnel.

Given the rapid pace of technological advancement, we must think ahead — developing tools and innovations that meet the growing expectations of both patients and healthcare professionals. This also includes joint efforts to communicate innovation more broadly and shape a positive attitude toward new technologies, which are essential to relieving the burden on the Polish healthcare system.

As a working group, we continue to explore key questions such as:

How to select an implementation team leader in the organization, what responsibilities they should take on, how to motivate them, and how to prevent their burnout.
How to evaluate and select effective/cost-effective medical technologies.
How to create or evolve the organizational culture so that it becomes the foundation for change and the development of innovation in the facility.

In addition, there are still significant legal and technological issues to consider — such as limitations in hospital IT systems (HIS), data and device interoperability, and integration into innovative projects.

NIL IN’s Planned Activities

Change management is a process that requires dedicated care and a methodological approach. When properly executed, it can bring measurable benefits.

That’s why establishing implementation centers is so important — places that will share experiences and recommendations with the broader medical community. Case studies based on real implementations in hospitals will help identify both positive and negative outcomes

As a working group, we aim to organize a series of study visits, allowing doctors from other centers to visit NIL IN-affiliated hospitals. We want to hear directly from healthcare workers — their insights, recommendations, and reflections.

We are also planning training sessions and webinars for doctors, focusing on practical aspects of medical technology development. These will offer a healthcare worker’s perspective, with topics such as:
intellectual property law in medical innovation,
how to secure public funding for technology projects.

We will continue to share updates on upcoming events and the progress of our working group.

If you’d like to join the group’s efforts, write to us at: innowacje@nil.org.pl

I dołącz do Społeczności NIL IN