Assessing innovations: what is the optimal approach for healthcare organizations?

Innovations in healthcare may improve patient outcomes and create economic benefits for healthcare organizations. The information available when an innovation is introduced to the market, however, may be insufficient to provide a compelling rationale for an institution to invest in the innovation. Generating the data required for an effective decision-making process involves assessing current performance indicators for an individual institution and the projected impact of adopting the innovation. The benefits of the innovation are verified after implementation. This article explores some of the issues and processes in evaluating healthcare innovations.