Should a hospital be solely a place where medical services are delivered, or should it also play an active role in creating innovation? In an era of rapid advances in artificial intelligence, medical data, and digital technologies, collaboration and the ability to effectively implement new solutions are becoming increasingly important. We speak with Dr. Alicja Karney, MD, PhD, Director of the Institute of Mother and Child, about why the future of healthcare depends on building sustainable innovation ecosystems, the role healthcare institutions can play within them, and why the MCSC Platform was created based on the experiences and insights gained through the MCSC Hospital Leadership Innovation competition.
Monika Dobrzeniecka: For many years, the Institute of Mother and Child was associated primarily with its clinical, research, and educational activities. Later came the MCSC Hospital Leadership Innovation competition for innovators – this year marks its fifth edition. What made you conclude that the competition itself was not enough and that the MCSC Platform was needed? What led to the decision to take on the role of an innovation ecosystem integrator as well?
Dr. Alicja Karney, MD, PhD: Today, the natural direction of development for modern medical institutes is not only to generate knowledge, but also to create the conditions for its practical application. As a research institute, we clearly see how many valuable solutions are being developed simultaneously in science, business, and healthcare organizations. I see our role as creating a space where these environments can come together around a shared goal: improving the quality of patient care.
For several years, we observed a very interesting phenomenon. Increasingly innovative technological solutions were being submitted to the MCSC competition, while hospitals were becoming more confident and precise in defining their needs. At the same time, we know that there is still a long road between a promising idea and its actual implementation.
Identifying an innovation alone is not enough. What is needed are the conditions to validate it, assess its impact on patients and healthcare professionals, verify regulatory compliance, and prepare it for implementation. The MCSC Platform was created precisely to address this stage of the process. It is a natural evolution of the experience and knowledge we have gained through the competition.
In discussions about innovation, the focus is often on startups and new technologies. Much less attention is paid to the role of hospitals. What role should healthcare institutions play today?
Hospitals should not be merely recipients of ready-made solutions. They should be partners in creating them. It is within hospitals that knowledge about the real needs of patients and healthcare professionals is generated. Without this insight, even the most advanced technology may prove impractical or of limited value. That is why healthcare institutions should actively participate in the design, testing, and evaluation of new solutions.
So, would it be fair to say that the MCSC Platform is intended to act as a kind of translator between the worlds of healthcare and technology?
In a sense, yes. We speak different languages – clinical, technological, business, and regulatory. One of our roles is to help these communities communicate effectively and develop a shared understanding of needs and opportunities. Very often, innovative solutions emerge independently of one another, while the greatest value comes from developing them through dialogue with future users. We want to create an environment where that dialogue can take place from the very beginning.
The fifth edition of the competition is currently underway. What has been the most important insight gained from the previous four editions?
What surprised us most was how significantly the conversation around innovation has matured. A few years ago, discussions focused primarily on individual solutions and technologies. Today, we are increasingly talking about implementation processes, data quality, interoperability, safety, and the evaluation of clinical outcomes.
This demonstrates that the entire ecosystem is maturing. Hospitals are no longer looking solely for new tools. More and more often, they are seeking partners, knowledge, and opportunities to learn from the experiences of other healthcare institutions. The Platform enables us to move this collaboration beyond the competition format and into a sustainable, long-term operating model.
Will innovators and technology developers also be able to learn through the MCSC Platform?
Absolutely. That is one of our fundamental assumptions. Technology developers often focus primarily on the capabilities of their solutions. However, the clinical environment is highly complex. In a hospital, any change affects multiple processes simultaneously, which is why it is so important to consider the perspective of healthcare professionals already at the product design stage. The Platform is intended to help both sides better understand one another and jointly develop solutions that address the real needs of the healthcare system.
Clinical pilots are expected to be one of the Platform’s key pillars. Why are they so important?
Because in healthcare, declarations alone are not enough. For many years, I was responsible for the clinical division at the Institute of Mother and Child. As healthcare professionals, we need evidence showing that a given solution genuinely improves the quality of care, enhances patient and staff safety, or streamlines processes. A pilot enables us to assess how a technology performs in real-world conditions. Only then can we responsibly discuss broader implementation and scaling.
We have talked a great deal about technology, data, and organizations. Where does the patient fit into all of this?
The patient should remain the central reference point for all innovation-related activities. Technology is not an end in itself. It is a tool designed to improve the quality of care, increase accessibility, enhance safety, and support healthcare professionals in their work. Incorporating the patient perspective already at the design and evaluation stages of new solutions is essential. Ultimately, every innovation should answer a simple question: does it bring real value to the treatment process and the patient experience?
The MCSC Platform is intended to bring together the worlds of healthcare, science, business, and public administration. Why is this type of collaboration necessary today?
We must recognize that none of these groups can transform the healthcare system on their own. Researchers provide knowledge, entrepreneurs develop solutions, healthcare institutions validate their usefulness, and public authorities create the conditions for their safe implementation. Only through collaboration among all stakeholders can we move from individual projects to sustainable, system-wide change.
Why is now the right time to launch the MCSC Platform?
We are at a unique moment in the evolution of healthcare. Digital technologies and artificial intelligence are advancing rapidly, new European regulations concerning health data are emerging, and healthcare institutions are increasingly willing to participate in innovation projects. We therefore see both a need and an opportunity to build a more mature collaboration ecosystem that supports the responsible implementation of new technologies.
The MCSC Platform places strong emphasis on skills development. Why are competencies just as important as infrastructure and technology?
Because even the best tools will not deliver the expected results if people do not know how to use them effectively. Digital transformation is, above all, an organizational and competency-driven change. It requires an understanding of data, new models of collaboration, the responsible use of artificial intelligence, and the ability to assess emerging technologies. That is why we view skills development as an investment just as important as investment in infrastructure.
MCSC is rooted in the experiences of hospitals, but the Platform’s ambitions extend much further. Could the lessons learned from pilots and implementations eventually influence the way healthcare policies are developed?
That is certainly one of our goals. Healthcare requires decisions grounded in evidence and real-world experience. Pilots, validations, and projects conducted in actual clinical settings generate data that can support the development of recommendations, new standards of care, and effective innovation implementation models.
We would like the Platform to become not only a place where technologies are developed and tested, but also a source of knowledge that supports the continued transformation of the healthcare system.
Interviewed by:
Dr. Alicja Karney, MD, PhD – a specialist in pediatrics, Director of the Institute of Mother and Child (Instytut Matki i Dziecka). She graduated from the Medical University of Warsaw and completed postgraduate studies in healthcare management. She combines many years of clinical experience with leadership expertise in managing one of Poland’s most important medical institutions, overseeing its development and the implementation of its strategic objectives.
Dr. Karney is the author of numerous scientific and popular-science publications devoted to child health and parental health education. Her professional interests focus on pediatrics, preventive healthcare, and nutrition-related disorders, including childhood and adolescent obesity. She is also particularly engaged in the fields of allergy care, atopic dermatitis, and vaccinology.
She continuously advances her professional qualifications through specialist training programs and participation in national and international scientific conferences. In her work, she combines medical expertise, managerial experience, and a strong commitment to the development of modern healthcare for children and adolescents.
Monika Dobrzeniecka – Head of Communications, MCSC Hospital Leadership Innovation | Institute of Mother and Child
A communications professional specializing in strategic communications, public relations, and reputation management for organizations operating at the intersection of healthcare, innovation, and the public sector. She has built her professional experience in institutions including the Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland and the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN). She is a graduate of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw and completed postgraduate studies in Public Relations at the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH).