Telepresence innovation also has important implications for research. Clinicians at the Department of Veterans Affairs have run into a frustrating situation while studying sleep disorders. When patients with apnea and related disorders are brought into sleep labs for observation and study, their symptoms appear to intensify. By using a noninvasive, remote monitoring system made possible by telecommunications technology, researchers are able to study patients in their homes and obtain a more realistic evaluation of differences in sleep patterns. Whether in research or clinical practice, technological innovation will be embraced if it produces a measurable, desirable result.
Some observers claim that innovation all too often occurs in a vacuum.
Perhaps the focus is on the wrong objective. Innovators must understand the business objectives of the health-care industry as well as they understand legislative and regulatory demands. If they reach this level of understanding, market adoption of technological innovation is more likely to succeed. Whether we're talking about a better mousetrap or a more cost-effective way to treat human illness, the market responds to a better product. But technological innovation that the marketplace finds irresistible will remain the driving force of change in health care.