Medical Innovation: Exploring Failures, Challenges, and Policies

This essay critically examines medical innovations, focusing on their failures and the challenges encountered in the healthcare sector, particularly within the context of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It explores the essential health commodities, including healthcare facilities, vital drugs, and human resources. The paper delves into the reasons behind the failure of medical innovations, such as inadequate funding, government policies and regulations, and a misunderstanding of evolving medical innovations. It further identifies issues, barriers, and challenges, including funding limitations, poor implementation, and marketization. The essay recommends policy changes, such as providing adequate finances, fostering collaboration among stakeholders, formulating regulations to promote research and development, and raising public awareness. The author emphasizes the importance of medical innovations for healthcare systems and encourages investment in infrastructures that support innovation, addressing all the challenges and problems prudently.

Running Head: MEDICAL INNOVATION
Medical Innovation
Students Name
University Affiliation
Date

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Medical Innovation
Introduction
Advances in medical technology as well as innovations in the medical care have aroused
interests in various fields. It is interesting to note that innovation in healthcare is a tool which is
needed for changes in the medical system to adapt to the epidemiological as well as
demographical conditions and it is also a means of developing new cures and treatment for
illness. Innovation is usually a very hot subject with the term circulated in various contexts in the
public domain (Chan, Hamilton & Papageorge, 2016). in the national, political and international
debate, innovation has been viewed as a condition and factor for growth as well as welfare. The
most remarkable advances in the medical care has been the innovation in antibiotics, vaccination
and sanitation (Sorkin, Summers & Farquhar, 2008). However, innovation in medical field has
been faced by challenges and barriers which has hindered its progress. This paper will critically
discuss medical innovations and why they are failing. The paper will also discuss essential health
commodities, issues, challenges and barriers in medical innovation and the recommended policy
changes to improve and promote medical innovations.
Essential Health Commodities
Numerous people have considered healthcare as a right while others view it as a
privilege. However, healthcare should be considered a right since everyone is entitled to quality
and efficient healthcare and should not be a subject on whether somebody wants to medically be
treated or not, anchored on the financial muscle and status. The essential health commodities in
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are healthcare facilities, the vital drugs and the human power.

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Failure of Medical Innovations
Currently, healthcare systems in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia require an enhanced and
increased emphasis on medical innovation in order to achieve their vision as well as strategic
objectives. With the main forces of changes at play such as risk shifting, healthcare retail and
consumerism, healthcare organizations and other stakeholders have started assessing new
innovations in the medical field. However, most of the medical innovations fail due to a host of
many factors; funding, that is, innovation in medical have two major challenges. There have
been inadequate funds in healthcare to finance innovations. One of the problems that is
associated with funding is the long-term investment required for the new therapies and drugs (Xu
& Kesselheim, 2014). Even though investing capitalists backing start-up in information
technology can work short term finances, biotech firm investors may wait for more than ten
years to realize whether the new drugs or therapies may be accepted in the market. The
government has invested heavily in research and development in medical care. However, this
funding is not enough to cater for all the innovations that are coming up in various sectors.
Another reason why medical innovation is the government policies and regulations.
It is normally important for medical innovators to understand and comprehend policy
regulations placed by the government agencies. For example, most innovators know that not
following certain regulations guiding the medical innovation process amounts to being locked
out by the relevant authorities. Government also fail medical innovators by not formulating
necessary laws which supports medical innovations. Misunderstanding of the evolving medical
innovations by the researchers is one of the reasons why those innovations fail in the kingdom of
Saudi Arabia.

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Issues, Barriers and Challenges Facing Medical Innovation
It should be noted that medical innovation takes numerous forms, ranging from surgical
procedures, tests, drug therapies, devices via new forms of training of health professionals,
financing, model delivery, management and patient education. However, there are many issues,
barriers and challenges facing medical innovation. One of the major barriers and challenges
facing medical innovations in many countries is the lack of or inadequate funds which have left
many innovators to see through their innovations to fruition (Robinson, 2015). Healthcare
services are considered as one of the basic human rights by the world health organization, yet
many people in the world, this right has never been achieved. Even though, challenges in
healthcare are very distinct, most of the richest nations also face hurdles in the distribution of
healthcare to its people. This is also very true in the medical innovation where even the richest
countries have not invested heavily in the medical innovation. Another challenge facing medical
innovation is the poor implementation of such innovations. Healthcare systems usually welcomes
new innovations yet implementation and execution of such innovations face many challenges. It
is, therefore, very prudent for the government to assist in the implementation of such projects
through creation of robust research and development departments in healthcare organizations.
Another hurdle that is facing medical innovations is the marketization and the globalization of
the ideas and projects that are needed for the innovation to be realized.
The other challenge is the volume as well as time of follow up of data from the food and
drug agencies (Boni, 2018). In spite of the government agencies in the health department
offering better interface to most of its sets of data, new innovations face huge volume data top
sort and arrange through (Sanchez & Scott, 2012). For instance, sorting out one data set usually

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takes two men to finish for about one week. For the software innovators in the medical field,
being blindsided by the policy as well as regulatory issues acts a barrier to the new innovators.
Recommendations
The government through various healthcare agencies should provide adequate finances to
help in the execution of medical innovations. Most of the medical innovations require a lot of
capital to achieve, thus, providing sustainable capital infrastructures can help in resolving the
issue of lack or inadequate funds (Zweifel, 2003). All the stakeholders including the private
sectors and higher learning institutions should collaborate in promoting medical innovation.
Various regulations and policies should be formulated to promote and enhance research and
development in many healthcare sectors. There should be awareness programs to promote
research and development to the public (Balasubramanian, 2017). Professionals and experts in
the medical field should always ensure that the new innovations are given much publicity so that
they may be accepted not only by the patients but also the healthcare staffs.
My Opinion About Medical Innovations and Policy
Medical innovations are very important since they bring in new ideas in the medical field.
I would, therefore, advise not only the kingdom of Saudi Arabia but also the entire globe to
invest heavily in infrastructures that promote and support medical innovation. All the challenges
and problems which face medical innovation should be solved prudently. Policies regarding
medical innovations should be formulated and the existing ones amended to be in line with the
current demands of innovation.
Conclusions

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Medical innovations have brought great benefits in the healthcare systems of most
countries. However, these innovations have faced different challenges, barriers which need to
solved so as to release the execution of these innovations.

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