Research and practice in digital health innovation have largely focused on the processes underlying the development, implementation, and scaling of new digital services. Meanwhile, comparatively little attention has been paid to the processes underlying the removal - or de-implementation - of ineffective, inefficient, or obsolete digital tools. Drawing on evolutionary perspectives of innovation dynamics, this conceptual paper argues that a lack of clear responsibilities in de-implementation decision-making may undermine the contemporary digital health innovation arena by impeding the development, implementation, and scaling of superior solutions. On this basis, initial ideas are offered for innovation policy directions that could better support the systematic integration of de-implementation processes into digital health innovation ecosystems.
Valeria Pannunzio (Thu,) studied this question.