Embedding Innovation into the DNA of Healthcare

01 Sep 2025

Earlier this month, members of HG’s Executive Learning Sets had the opportunity to visit the Queensland Innovation Living Lab (QuILL). A state-of-the-art testbed where healthcare professionals, researchers, and innovators come together to evaluate and refine devices, technologies, and processes.

Located within the Clinical Skills Development Service (CSDS), QuILL represents an exciting shift in how healthcare innovation is approached. By combining the expertise of clinicians, digital specialists, researchers, and consumers, the lab is designed to uncover practical solutions that improve both patient outcomes and workforce experiences.

QuILL is equipped with advanced tools such as wearable biometric sensors, eye-tracking technology, and high-definition cameras. These enable detailed analysis of end-users’ cognitive and physiological states, helping to identify stress, attention, and interface vulnerabilities. Through this approach, innovation becomes more than an idea; it’s tested, refined, and made ready for integration into real-world healthcare settings.

The lab’s focus spans three core areas:

• Product innovation:  user-centred design and evaluation of prototypes for medical devices and software.
• Data-driven procurement: ensuring purchasing decisions are informed by robust, user-centred evaluation.
• Critical incident analysis: uncovering risks and improving safety through better equipment and product design.

For our Set members, the visit to QuILL was more than a tour of cutting-edge facilities. It was a reminder that embedding innovation into the DNA of healthcare systems requires leadership that is bold, collaborative, and forward-thinking. Innovation doesn’t happen in silos; it thrives when leaders open up spaces for experimentation, learning, and partnership between clinicians, researchers, and industry.

These site visits provide an invaluable opportunity for leaders to step outside their own organisations, experience new ideas in action, and reflect on how such innovations could translate into their own contexts.

Site visits like these are incredibly valuable learning opportunities for our set members and a great opportunity to showcase the innovative work happening across Australia and New Zealand. We are grateful to Mia McLanders and her team for making the time for our tour

Christine Leahy Executive Director, Leadership & Learning and Executive Learing Set Facilitator