Knowledge gathering important to evidence application in the innovation process

This freely available article illustrates a nice transition of the need for expertise in how Evidence, information and Knowledge play a role in innovating in health care.

Incorporating evidence review into quality improvement: meeting the needs of innovators.
Danz MS, Hempel S, Lim YW, Shanman R, Motala A, Stockdale S, Shekelle P, Rubenstein L.
BMJ Qual Saf. 2013 Jul 5; [Epub ahead of print]
http://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/early/2013/07/04/bmjqs-2012-001722.full.pdf

It includes some nice pointers for organizing a role for search experts (librarians or otherwise) to play a robust part in the innovation design process. The article highlights information (the sharing repackaged results), evidence review (identifying and qualifying what the science says works) and knowledge gathering (the contextual piece of WHY a proposed intervention MIGHT work in a particular environment and how it might be spread) as important parts of the overall innovation process.

I submit, however, that the suggestions for improvement (pg 7 of the preprint) illustrate the importance of knowledge sharing skills as being a concrete part of the innovation process. To fully capitalize on the information and evidence expertise on the team knowledge has to be infused into the process from the beginning (ie asking the questions about what evidence is needed), translating what is found into information and then applying it in a way that helps the innovation spread to improve care.

Can healthcare in general and patient safety specifically afford to not "rev-up" their efforts by strategically motivating improvement through building the knowledge piece into the innovation process from the 'get go?'

I think not.