Mastering Innovation in Healthcare: Practical Strategies for 2025 with David O'Malley

In this episode of The Strategy of Health Podcast, Cole sits down with David O'Malley, former SVP of Strategy & Innovation at VNS Health, to explore how healthcare organizations can create sustainable, long-term innovation strategies. With over 20 years of experience in driving impactful change, David shares his four key principles of innovation: Be Deliberate, Create Innovators, Make Space, and Be Inclusive.00:00 Introduction to Sustained Innovation00:40 Meet David O'Malley01:55 Defining Innovation02:47 Challenges in Innovation03:47 Horizons of Innovation04:50 Creating an Innovative Organization09:51 Principles of Innovation10:31 Implementing Innovation Principles18:06 Making Space for Innovation22:03 De-risking Innovation Investments22:32 Understanding the Regulated Healthcare Environment22:51 The Concept of Tranche Funding24:16 Balanced Innovation Portfolio24:57 Implementing Tranche Funding in Healthcare29:09 Challenges in Innovation Implementation33:56 Decentralized Command and Micro Innovations37:30 Inclusivity in Innovation43:41 Final Thoughts on Healthcare Innovation