Frugal and Reverse Innovations in Surgery

Abstract

In this chapter, we outline emerging trends in frugal innovations in the context of global surgery, their transformative potential, and their diffusion as reverse innovations from low-income to high-income countries. With healthcare needs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) converging with those of high-income countries, both contexts are demanding affordable healthcare models. The former seek to provide healthcare where there is either sporadic or no healthcare services. The latter seek to deal with burden of chronic disease, ageing populations, and rising healthcare costs. Increasing attention is being afforded to bending the growth cost curve by developing new solutions or drawing from different solutions in LMICs. First, an overview of frugal and reverse innovation and relevance to global surgery is discussed. Second, the need to identify or assess frugality and reverse ability and understand key methods employed in frugal approaches to surgery is outlined. Third, the barriers and challenges to adopting frugal innovations into reverse innovations are discussed.