Unleashing Health Care Innovation – A Proposal

Nothing limits achievement like small thinking; nothing expands possibilities like unleashing imagination.

William Arthur Ward (1925-1994), author of Foundation of Faith

In search of the spark – and the next big thing.

John Bussey, Wall Street Journal Editor, In “Unleashing Innovation,” Journal Report, February 26, 2013

Health care innovation in the age of health reform is not one thing. 

It is many things. 

It is recognizing that reform is a two-edged sword – government controls and creative means of minimizing those controls.

It is a state of mind – that’s all right to try and try again, and to fail.

It is thinking outside the box. 

It is knowing there is a box – and regulations and codes create that box. 

It is acknowledging what is and what could be.  

It is believing that patients are very smart people, capable of learning what is good and bad care and acting upon that knowledge.  

It is giving people the means of spending their own money in ways they see fit. 

It is looking unblinkingly at what data and science says.

It is believing in the potential power of the robot and the computer, but knowing limitations of both.  

It is believing humans should have the power to trump protocols and algorithms.  

It is making failure acceptable.

It is  knowing wild and crazy individuals have wild and crazy ideas that are worth a try,  and that organizations can foster these individuals by giving them space to dream.

It is being aware rules, regulations, and bureaucracy can dry up creativity.  

It is about getting real and seeing that capital is the fuel for applying imagination solutions.

It is about looking at wider world and seeing what drives innovation – GPS, IPhones, social media, and virtual information – and applying and connecting that knowledge to the health care world.  

Finally, it is about communicating your ideas and ideas of others on innovation to your fellow caregivers.

That is what I try to do with the following proposal.

Proposal

Dear Fellow Health Care Innovator.

In 2005, I wrote a book Voices of Health Reform, Interviews of 45 National Health Care Stakeholders at Work. In 2007, Jones and Bartlett published my book Innovation-Driven Health Care: 34 Key Concepts for Transformation.  That same year, I started the Medinnovation Blog.  Today, 2700 blog posts later, I have 700 readers each day, 789 yesterday.  Over 125 of my blogs have been on innovation.  I am working on  my latest book, Innovation and Health Reform, which will be available  in several months and will contain 100 of my blogs on innovation.

New Venture and a  Proposal

I have embarked on a new venture:  Interviews with Health Care  Innovators,  of whom you are one.

My proposal is this:  

For an introductory price to be negotiated,  I will personally  interview you for your ideas of innovation and what your company is doing to promote health care innovation.  I will then publish  your interview on my blog, along with an ad approved by your organization, which will appear as an integral part of the blog post.   You may then take my blog post and distribute it to your customer base and to potential clients.   I will also send you an autograph copy of my new book Innovation and Health Reform.

My intent is to develop a forum  for innovation thought leaders in which you can express yourself in your own words.

If you have any interest , let me know  at 1-860-395-1501 or rreece1500@aol.com, so we can schedule time for an interview.

Sincerely,

Richard L. Reece, MD