Launched last September by Schnucks, a grocery chain with a large Midwest presence, Schnucks Infusion Solutions’ first Ambulatory Infusion Center offers infusion therapy to treat a number of conditions including cancer, Crohn’s, Multiple Sclerosis and Cystic Fibrosis.
The freestanding infusion center offers evening and weekend hours, free Internet, cable TV and snacks, according to an Advisory Board briefing. It’s staffed by registered nurses with certification from the Infusion Nurses Certification Corp., pharmacists and technicians.
While the grocery store doesn’t seem the most natural business to provide infusion therapy, there’s no doubt it knows a thing or two about convenience and can provide a lower-site cost of care than hospital-based centers — an attribute that is increasingly beneficial as patients and payers look to rein in costs.
Health system leaders do and should worry about disruptive innovation, and Schnucks has provided a prime example of it. Anyone who thinks otherwise should review the definition of ‘disruptive innovation,’ a term coined by Clayton Christensen, a Harvard Business School professor (who also provided the foreword for Jonathan Bush’s book):
“Disruptive innovation …describes a process by which a product or service takes root initially in simple applications at the bottom of a market and then relentlessly moves up market, eventually displacing established competitors.”
As established competitors, hospitals must take note.
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