A CRISIS-DRIVEN INNOVATION FOR MEDICAL DEVICE DEVELOPMENT APPLIED TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN THAILAND: A CASE OF POWERED AIR PURIFYING RESPIRATOR

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Thailand faces widespread shortages of high-demand medical supplies due to a surging domestic demand and also a major disruption in the global supply chain. These shortages trigger local efforts to innovate appropriate solutions to meet the unmet healthcare needs. Unlike mainstream innovation management where a more planned and prepared approach are sought to learn from prior experiences and more effective models are developed, the problem-solving under crisis conditions are rather ad hoc responses to solve life-or-death issue. Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) was selected as the case study as it fits well with the criteria of a crisis-driven innovation management. Faced with not just a series of windows of opportunity for a new idea or practice, but also serious constraints on existing standard operating procedures in a local context, the findings illustrate how innovations, innovators and adopters are managed in a completely new approach. The innovation processes were done outside the market-based interaction via the strong cooperation among four key players (i.e. the multidisciplinary non-profit organization, the manufacturing association, the leading firm and funding agencies). To solve the real pain and drive rapid diffusion among local consumers, the solution is deliberately reconfigured to provide appropriate level  of technology considering safety, affordability and reusability. However, it is observed that innovations typically emerge from crisis driven situation faces the market acceptance problem since its early adoption until moving to scale. Therefore, we made recommendation that the developing country, such as Thailand, may use a demand-side policy instrument, such as special government procurement measures, to foster certain essential medical devices. This is not only for the future resilience of healthcare system, but it can be used to provide the complete ecosystem conditions by identifying, specifying and signaling needs, and incentivizing innovative healthcare solutions that will in turn help private sector sustain their businesses and technological capabilities.