Many centuries ago, Socrates stated that “the secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” Nowadays, we may relate his quote with the concept of innovation, which is considered the process of turning an idea into a good or service that adds value.

Innovation must satisfy a specific need, involve a deliberate application of information, imagination, and initiative, and ought to include all processes by which new ideas are generated and converted into useful products. As physicians, we tend to assume regular incremental advances in technology and processes, but from time to time disruptive innovations take place.

Even though innovation entails the application of useful novel ideas, these should address our specific challenge: taking care of the patients’ needs.

New ideas must accept the pathophysiology, at least to a certain level, and aim to prevent further harm. We are bystanders of an exponential increase in knowledge and face complex situations with small response time.

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