Keynote 3 – Innovation starts with Exnovation

Link to EAHP Statements
Section 1 – Introductory Statements and Governance: Statements – 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5
Section 4 – Clinical Pharmacy Services: Statements – 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.8
Section 5 – Patient Safety and Quality Assurance: Statements – 5.1, 5.5

Abstract
Hospital pharmacists and their teams operate at the intersection of patient safety, medication management, and healthcare efficiency. As pharmacy services continue to expand, so do the number of tasks, protocols, and interventions pharmacists are expected to manage. However, with every new task added, the question arises: What should we let go of?
Exnovation, the intentional process of deimplementing outdated, redundant, or low-value tasks, is increasingly recognized as a crucial strategy in optimizing healthcare delivery. Instead of simply adding more complexity, pharmacy leaders must have the courage to streamline workflows, eliminate redundancies, and refine processes to enhance both efficiency and patient care. But exnovation is not just about deimplementation—it’s also about learning from what works best to enhance continuous improvement.
This keynote will introduce both the deimplementing and learning from what works best approach. Instead of aiming to terminate outdated tasks, for the learning from what works best approach, the focus is on digging out and exposing what is already there (“excavation”) and using this as a resource for practice improvement (“innovation from within”). In this approach, the ingenuity of professionals in responding effectively to the daily disruptions of work is taken as a point of departure. In explicating these oft-hidden competencies of ordering and alignment, this form of exnovation capitalises on the hidden strengths embedded in practices to make them more smooth, adaptable and efficient.
Aiming for a sustainable future for hospital pharmacy, both forms of exnovation can complement each other in their critical reflection on tasks, leadership, and team engagement.
Through real-world case studies, actionable strategies will be offered to identify and learn from, empower teams to work smarter, and drive meaningful change.

Learning objectives
After the session, the participant should be able to:
– Recognize the role of both exnovative approaches in optimizing hospital pharmacy workflows.
– Identify learning opportunities in tasks and processes that are valuable and should be highlighted and preserved.
– Identify leadership strategies to guide teams in exnovation while strengthening high-impact interventions.

Educational need addressed
Hospital pharmacy is evolving, and with it comes the challenge of balancing new responsibilities with sustainable workflows. This keynote will provide an approach to constructively evaluate daily tasks and foster a culture of continuous improvement. Attendees will gain insights into leading smarter, more focused pharmacy services that prioritize both patient care and team well-being.

Keywords
Learning; continuous improvement; reflection; workflow efficiency, leadership, hospital pharmacy practices