Causing What Isn’t

Monday, August 20, 2007  | Joseph Kvedar

Over the years, I’ve been impressed by the growing number of people who are passionate about the vision of connected health.  Our community of clinicians, healthcare administrators, technologists, payers, and patients is a special one.  We’re able to envision a very different kind of healthcare system and forge ahead, sometimes without all the information, tools, and experience that conventional wisdom would say we need.

I recently met a leadership consultant who defined leadership this way:  “Causing what isn’t.” 

Isn’t this what the connected health community needs to do?   But to do it right, we need to share ideas, best practices, ask the tough questions, learn from each other.  In that spirit, we are pleased to launch our new website, which is focused more on providing you a platform for discussions, comments, and resources in making connected health a robust reality. 

I invite each one of you to take part.  Here are some ways you can do this:

• Start a new discussion around a topic that interests you or you think would be critical to the adoption of connected health services
• Let us know if there are articles, news, white papers, that you think would be valuable for the connected health community to know
• Share your stories about how connected health has impacted your community, your patients, your business, your family
• Provide your comments and insights on any content on the site

I’ve been privileged to know many of you personally, and look forward to seeing some of you at our upcoming Symposium.  In the meantime, I hope you’ll stay in touch with us and with each other.

If we consider “Causing what isn’t” – what “isn’t” in connected health today?

Member Comments

I think what you guys are doing is great. As a business person who has spent many years travelling the world, I think that the greatest challenge to connected health may be to internationalise it so that people used to a certain standard of virtual service can get it wherever they find themselves.

I worked in the satellite industry and "tele-medecine" was always in everyone's long-term business plans as a driver of communications usage but it always remained there - in the long-term forecast. Actual telemedecine usage over satellites was very small (time-delay didn't help of course)

Now working in healthcare in the UK I still see that long-term potential for global "connected health" but over the terrestrial internet. However, differences in communications infrastructure, in accessibility to two-way video from behind firewalls and in culture still seem to be slowing developments. As Jeff Ridout from Cisco said, we need to Think Global but Connect Local.

There "isn't" such a network yet, but that's what leadership's for right?

Paul McGhee UK

Paul McGhee

Research Communications Manager
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

 

Posted by: Paul McGhee
10/20/2007

 

Mr. Kvedar,
I work on the provider side of the isle and have for the last 30 years. I have recently discovered this site and look forward to reading and communicating.

I might suggest rather than "causing what isn't", from our perspective, it often seems more a matter of "removing what is that doesn't need to be". Insurance companies as "trustees" of our health insurance premiums comes immediately to mind. If we can begin to remove the impediments to meaningful communication, and substitute immediate benefit, I believe that doctor offices in configurations of all sizes will line up to participate. Let's all work to make it happen.

Thanks

Richard May

President
HuTech Resources, LLC

 

Posted by: Richard May
4/17/2008

 

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