Technological Innovations Through Digital Service Design in Hospital Districts

The aim of the study is to describe and increase understanding about digital service design in creating technological innovations in Finnish hospital districts. The data was collected via an open questionnaire during March-August 2019 and analyzed using a combined thematic and narrative analysis. Three distinct themes arose from the research narratives: cooperation, development, and cost. First, the importance of cooperation in the early stages of the service design process, when new technological innovation ideas are developed, was emphasized. Second, the possibilities of digitalization and need for new innovations were taken into account in the development theme. Third, costs define the utilization of an innovation and guide its initial development. If savings and costs are in balance, technological innovations will move forward. Moreover, the findings show that technological innovations in hospital districts progress in a certain pattern, and the utilization of innovations come from the need and pressure to evolve. Keywords Adoption of Innovation, Deployment of Innovation, Digital Service Design, Rogers's Diffusion of Innovation Theory, Service Design, Service Innovation, Specialized Medical Care