In 2010 I wrote a post entitled: “Praying with Chuck Denham.” Yesterday evening before bedtime I began receiving emails from
various leaders in the patient safety movement who read that post and knew of
my work with Chuck. They had
questions about a January 9, 2014 article by Jonathan Stempel in Reuters
stating:
“CareFusion Corp
agreed to pay $40.1 million to settle a federal government lawsuit accusing it
of paying kickbacks to boost sales of a pre-surgical skin treatment, and
marketing the product for unapproved uses.
The accord announced on
Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice
resolves allegations that
CareFusion violated the federal False Claims Act by paying $11.6 million to a
doctor to promote its ChloraPrep product to healthcare providers.
That doctor, Charles
Denham, received the kickbacks while serving as co-chair of the safe practices
committee of the nonprofit National Quality Forum, which makes recommendations
on healthcare practices, the Justice Department said.
"Corrupting the
standard-setting process through kickbacks can affect the healthcare treatment
choices that doctors and hospitals may make for patients," Stuart Delery,
assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's civil division, said in
a statement.
The lawsuit also claimed
that CareFusion promoted ChloraPrep from September 2009 through August 2011 for
unapproved uses.
The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration had approved ChloraPrep to prepare patients' skin for surgery or
injections. CareFusion said on Thursday that it set aside funds for the
settlement in the first quarter of 2013.
Chief Executive Officer
Kieran Gallahue said the San Diego-based company is pleased to settle, and has
made "significant investments" to improve its quality and compliance
practices, including in sales and marketing.
Denham could not
immediately be reached for comment.”
I spoke to Chuck a few
minutes ago and he is working on a response statement based on the original
legal document. The document is quite
large so he will address each point carefully and with complete respect. That is all I can say right now about
the article in Reuters.
I can tell you what I know
about Charles Denham. He is a
tireless advocate for patient safety.
He hosts regular patient safety calls on Saturday mornings with patients
and has done so for years. He
films hour upon hour of patient safety video for his Discovery Channel
documentaries in the hope that those films will reach the general public and
alert them to the dangers of infection.
He drives his creative team team at TMIT (Texas Medical Institute of
Technology) ever forward to more and more campaigns that address patient
safety. He helped create
Speakerlink.org so patients would have some kind of platform to spread
awareness of the power of patient speakers.
I was honored to work with
the TMIT group as a paid fellow in 2011-2012. That helped me pay my rent, support my family and my advocacy
mission. In the years hence I have
participated in numerous unpaid webinars and conference calls in my support of
the valid patient safety work of Chuck and his team at TMIT.
In the fall of 2012, I
organized a conference called Partnership with Patients in Kansas City. It was a great meeting of patients and
partners from around the country focused on patient safety and data
access. I paid for that event
through crowdfunding and my own personal income.
So to all of my dear
patients friends and fellow advocates who attended that event and received
travel scholarships, were we taking ‘kickbacks’ from Carefusion for our noble
work? I ask everyone in the
patient safety movement to pause and consider Chuck’s stellar work within the
movement.
In the meantime, I will be
praying for Chuck Denham.
They hung framed as faces on the wall at the
National Press Club. The entire venue was dressed in marble, old polished
wood, brass details and heavy drapes. Here were the symbols of the
establishment: the status quo, the exclusive club. Within the room we
filed in row, cameras pointing forward to the stage.
The important people were here.
The room was filled with tall beautiful
people. Many were elder statesmen in their fields, their silver-white hair
a testament to their years of labor whilst toiling for the good. They were
doctors, aviators, scientists, and researchers. They were reporters,
government officials and CEO’s. This summit day focused on Health Information
Technology at a cross roads with Patient Safety. The speakers came to the summit,
taking time from their busy schedules to address the assembled, catching the
last flights out of town in order to speak on this day.
The day began at 8:30 in the morning as we viewed the documentary produced by TMIT (Texas Medical Institute of Technology) and The Discovery Channel: “Surfing the Healthcare Tsunami: Bring Your Own Board.” I set up my easel in the back of
the room and my eyes touched upon the backs of those assembled. Even in the
darkness lit by the flickering film, I knew many of those backs. They wore their souls as paint on
fabric. I knew them not by their job titles, but by their struggles.
In this room were the disadvantaged, the ones who were barely getting
by. Some received care due to Medicaid, some worked long hours and still cared
for their relatives. Some faced discrimination for their interests, their
gender, their sexual orientation or the color of their skin. These who sat in a
room of greatness had faced a crucible of pain.
The important people were here.
I painted the movie and the meeting. I was honored to witness the
combination of many talents join together to reach a greater understanding of
the immense struggle we face in reducing healthcare harm. Here was technology,
health and information combined.
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I began the piece by painting with sharp brush stokes the oncoming wave.
In a riot of attacking blue the waves descend upon a hospital building. I have
been to many small towns where the hospital is the largest building. If there
were a tsunami wave descending, I would scale the heights of the hospital and
hope for the best.
Upon this man-made summit a small crowd forms. They are fighting against
the waves. To the far left a young teen in a hooded jacket holds a smart phone
up toward the coming storm. A
series of conference tweets spool off the device. Here we see @TiffanyandLupus say “Silos Kill- Charles Denham
#HITTMIT. Then we see @Kaitbr’s
“HITTMIT a collision between patients and HIT.” Next @Lygeia with “The rate at
which technology is changing is shifting the landscape #HITTMIT.” Finally, @TrishaTorrey states: “6th
stage of grief is proactive survivor.”
While painting this I noticed that every person tweeting the hashtag was
female. I don’t think I have ever
seen a twitter stream focusing on HIT so thoroughly dominated by women. Then, I looked at the panel currently
speaking consisting mostly of men. I thought at this moment what a great unifying force technology
brings. The voice once silent at
the podium loudly comments online and the ripples of her thoughts spread far
and wide.
Protecting the crowd on top the hospital are two blue angels. To the
left, the larger fierce angel represents the “Blue Angels” themselves. Here the
tools of aviation are arrayed in opposition to healthcare harm. As Dr. Charles Denham, our moderator and creative force behind TMIT, asked Aviation safety expert John Nance, “What if we had a NTSB (National
Transportation Safety Board) in medicine?” What if every surgery had a
black box? What if errors were revealed within days to the whole world so
they would not happen to others? Fellow aviators like Dennis Quaid work toward
this end. Months before his twins were harmed, the same medication error
happened to other children and resulted in their death. Failure is great teacher. We remember with crystal clarity the
worst moments in our life and the knowledge gleaned from mistakes made can be
taught to others.
Below the guardian angel, a young patient stares at us. The wind of harm
is almost blowing the gown off her back and her hair whips around her head in
frenzy, but still she huddles protectively over a child younger than herself. Behind her a doctor holds a surgery
checklist defiantly toward the wind. To the young girls right, another patient
stands. His Johnny gown is open
and he holds his IV staff as though it is a battle standard.
To the far right a little blue angel stands. She is Emily Jerry. She was mistakenly given a chemotherapy solution with 23.4% sodium when the
amount should have been less than 1%. She died a painful death at the age of
two. Eric Cropp, the on duty pharmacist responsible when a technician under his
supervision made an error, went to jail. Emily’s father Christopher founded the Emily Jerry Foundation to support patient safety. Christopher publicly forgave Eric and speaks with him at medical
conferences. Christopher believes
we should focus less on blaming individuals and focus more on the system that
allows such errors.
Emily is holding a life preserver that says HIT
and patient. Throughout much of
the day we heard about the power of technology to catch error, but the patient
and family can act as a double check as well. So Emily hands this life preserver to a pit-crew
member. NASCAR has learned the
power of teamwork and transparency in keeping drivers alive. Medicine must do the same.
Below and to the left of our crowd a black
vortex swirls inward spinning money toward flames. This is our current
payment model: a fee for service system paying for additional tests without
requiring proof continuity of care and positive experiences. Here are quiet malpractice settlements
with non-disclosure orders. Here
is a dark silence that kills, while money burns.
To the right of the vortex is the HMS Community, a ship based upon the
Titanic. We gather this day to stop the ship before it sinks. We must
redirect before iceberg hits or the oncoming wave capsizes this massive
structure. If we fail a great deal of people will die and the majority of them will
be those in "steerage."
This is the 100th
anniversary year of the Titanic sinking. Here is a quote from the film of that
name: Titanic(1997)
Ruth:
“Will the lifeboats be seated according to class? I hope they aren't too
crowded.”
Rose: “Oh mother, shut up! Don't you understand? The water
is freezing and there aren't enough boats. Not enough by half. Half the people
on this ship are going to die.” Cal Hockley: “Not the better half.”
My late husband and I saw that film in the theatre. It showed true love in a moment of
utmost despair. I am not talking
about the relationship between the protagonists Jack and Rose. No, I speak of the mother in steerage. When she realized there was no way
out for her and her young family she went back to her small cabin and read them
a storybook. As I read my Fred the
Dark Tower, as Lewis Blackman read Dune, we read alone in hospital rooms as the
ship sinks around us. The power of
the story can offer solace in our deepest despair.
But story can do far more than that.
Stories once told will spread, changing systems of care as well as s
systems of thought. So this day, this painting, this documentary and all the
speakers on Speakerlink.org encapsulate the patient stories that stream above
the waves. The stories will escape
to build the world anew.
Yes, Hubris sunk the Titanic. The Hubris that bigger and better was an
end in itself, and the designers of that ship disregarded the potential of
communication technology. But
Hubris is more than just an over inflated sense of pride. It is the subjection of those who are
powerless by those in power. It is
harming those who cannot speak for themselves whether they are little Emily’s
or men in open Johnny gowns.
So within this painting the building is labeled “Hubris Hospital” for we
are at a crossroads. We are at the collision of technology and tradition. Technology is sharp. It is made of glass, wire and hard data. When it presses against inflated egos and the rounded comfort of custom, it
will pierce.
Leave this post inspired to act. Comment now on the proposed rule of Meaningful Use Stage 2. Make sure the patient voice is front and center. Watch this Documentary and act upon it. Join your local Hospital Board or patient advisory board, join Speakerlink.org.
Whatever you do, speak up. Be the siren that warns against the wave.
CareMomsas well my regular entries from this advocacy blog.
This is a cross-post from that blog.....
A little over a year ago I met Dr. Chuck Denham, CEO of TMIT (Texas Medical Institute of Technology) on the Stage of the Quality Net 2010 conference in Baltimore. I had just finished a moving speech about the importance patient/family access to the electronic medical record. After I finished speaking, Chuck decided he must meet with me. Before we had even begun the after speech Q&A, Chuck asked me if I would like to be involved in his massive patient advocacy project with TMIT hosted at SafteryLeaders.org. I said yes, and we announced on stage that we would work together to promote great positive changes in patient safety in 2011.
Soon after that, I met with his film team. We filmed a short video at IHI in December 2011. It was entitled Remember Your Hollidays. The film team of Colin Gabriel and Matthew Listiak edited it the video quickly and it was posted on youtube in late December.
Throughout the spring I had conversations with Chuck and Laura Slayton,social media guru at TMIT, about the various safety initiatives of TMIT, including a concept called
CareMoms — SafetyLeaders.orgThe focus of CareMoms, as defined by SafteyLeaders, is to engage and develop leaders – who are moms, dads, grandparents, sons, and daughters in the community. These people can bring their power of persuasion to reduce healthcare accidents that cause more than 200,000 deaths in America, and many more globally. These CareMoms/Dads can rally around their local hospitals and give them concepts, tools, and resources that hospital leaders and healthcare governance boards need to "chase zero" accidents and win the war on healthcare harm.
After discussing this concept with Chuck, I designed his jacket for the Walking Gallery, a patient advocacy movement consisting of wearable art, using an image of a universal and infinite CareMother encircling our world.
Soon Chuck asked me what I would recommend as the greatest thing that TMIT could create to further the work of patient advocacy. I told him a Speakers Bureau for patients.
For the last six month, the TMIT team has been doing exactly that.
So, last week at QualityNet 2011 in Baltimore I saw Chuck once again upon the stage. He spoke of the amazing patient safety initiatives on the way and he encouraged the entire crowd to visit
SpeakerLink.org: a site where seeking facilities can find health policy speakers with a patient or patient-centric view.
I tweeted my joy from the back of the room upon seeing our dream become reality. Then the actress and patient advocate Alicia Cole began to speak. She told a powerful story of her brush with death due to a hospital inquired infection. She spoke in loving terms of her Mother and Father who stood at her side as steadfast advocates, thereby saving her life. She mentioned how her mother saw a black spot no larger than a dot from a sharper marker. a dot that would have grown and killed Alicia in hours without her Mother’s intervention.
Alicia was an amazing patient speaker and encapsulated the reason why we speak. Her words can change our world.
Please remember us this Holiday Season. Remember the Hollidays. Remember the Alicia’s. Remember the black dot that was not a speck of coal within a Christmas stocking, but instead a speck on Cole. Remember a mother who saved her child.
Happy Holidays to all the CareMoms, CareDads and the patients who suffer; we shall be thinking of you.
This week I spent hours on the phone with some of the great minds working within patient advocacy. I asked them a series of 17 questions. Designed by the wonderful staff at TMIT (Texas Medical Institute of Technology), these questions are helping to create the nuts and bolts of an online vetted registry of Patient Speakers at a regional, national and international level.
In the midst of this process, I received a twitter mention from @cascadia also known as Sherry Reynolds. She lead me to an article on the Health Affairs blog entitled:
by Jessie Gruman. I must admit I was rather taken aback as I follow Jesse on Twitter and she has always supported patient empowerment in the past. Jessie Gruman is the president and founder of the Center for Advancing Health. Its mission statement is: "CFAH conducts research, communicates findings and advocates for policies that support everyone’s ability to benefit from advances in health science."
So, I was feeling rather stabbed in the back by being called a fly, and not just a fly, but also a dead one spoiling a perfectly good ointment. Jessie had decided to use a slightly incendiary tone in order to promote debate. For within her post discussing the testimony of patients before the Food and Drug Administration regarding the drug Avastin, was a critique of the power of the individual patient voice in relation to the combined power of evidence based medicine and governmental regulation.
The patient voice can be a very powerful tool. Some may see a patient speaker as a Mayfly: here today and gone tomorrow. They may see us as the current tale of sorrow to be trotted upon the stage and then fall into obscurity. Or perhaps we are viewed as the buzzing fly. The persistent drone of patient advocate babble in the background at a meeting or at a conference, not important just a nuisance. But what does it mean to be called a fly in the ointment? Well, that’s Biblical. That means we have disturbed and defiled the sacred anointed oil of medicine with a corpse.
And then I realized the true power Jesse’s title.
For my fly is Fred, and Helen Haskell’s fly is Lewis, and May Ellen Mannix‘s fly is James, and Leslie Boyd's fly is Mike and we are disturbing the ointment. We fly throughout the nation as patient speakers trying to change the status quo from a profit-driven model of care to a patient-centered model of care. And we form a powerful group, that combined can support evidence based medicine by aggregating our shared stories.
But before you can use our knowledge, you must be able to find us. And once you are able to find us we must be paid based upon our experience, depth knowledge and quality of our speech.
This is a concern Dave DeBronkart, other wise known as e-Patient Dave, has been writing about since January of 2009.
That is the reason we are creating a Patient Speakers Bureau. The decision to create such a resource was made after a conversation I had with TMIT CEO Charles Denham, MD. He asked me what did I see as a necessary next step in patient advocacy. I told him we needed a patient speakers bureau. In the patient advocacy community we have been talking about this need for a number of years. My frustration at the lack of such a resource reached its pinnacle as I did dishes one Saturday. I received a phone call from CMS (Centers for Medicaid/Medicare Services) asking which speakers would I recommend for an event in Texas. I was in my kitchen in Washington, DC doing dishes as my five year old played with toys upon the floor, and I was the resource for CMS to find a speaker in Texas.
I thought there must be a better way.
I knew there were amazing people throughout the country who could speak on a host of patient advocacy topics and do so from the perspective of a patient. I knew some of them. And Dave De Bronkart knew some of them. And Trisha Torrey knew some of them. And Charles Denham knew some of them. If you knew Dave, Trisha, Chuck or Me, you could ask us for our lists. But that is very cumbersome and it feels like we are constantly re-inventing the wheel. The beauty of an internet resource is that it advocates 24 hours a day. And try as hard we can to keep going, human advocates must sleep.
Clean and Simple Web Design
I asked the advocates what websites did they use and what feature was the most important. By far and wide, the advocates were focused on a using a good search function. They also loved data filtering and aggregation. They thought the ability to have communication within a community was important as well.
If you have a cause you must be on Twitter.
Which social media sites do patient advocates use? They listed Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Meet-Up, Slideshare, Google +, Blogger, Wordpress and Posterous as important tools in the patient advocate toolbox. Unlike many speaker bureaus, we are focusing on promoting the speaker with a well-rounded advocacy platform. The speech is not an end unto itself, but instead a beginning. Most of these speakers blog and have an astute command of social media that will allow the concepts of the conference echo for weeks, months and years on the world wide web. Indeed, hiring a speaker from those listed on this portal can increase the digital footprint of a facility often faster than is possible with their in-house social media team.
“I am one person.”
One of the benefits I often attribute to hiring a patient speaker or inviting them to attend a meeting, is the benefit of the one-person view. Often organizations become so multifaceted and constrained by the will of the group they become handicapped in their ability to present the individual patient view. I found it very interesting that many of the advocates I interviewed present themselves across every social media platform as themselves, seamlessly blending professional and personal lives. The only exception was Facebook . In about half of those interviewed they said their Facebook usage was more for friends and family with far less professional messaging.
I do not look for them; they find me.
I asked the speakers if any of them had experience with other speaker bureaus. Most responded that they had little experience with such sites. Some had visited the Washington Speakers Bureau, NAMI, Alzheimer’s Association and SpeakerGram. Most of the advocates had never used such sites and relied exclusively on word of mouth to promote their speaking advocacy.
If we build it, will they learn?
I asked about any thoughts the advocates had on continuing education on patient topics and in patient speaking. I also asked in what format should we teach such topics. The advocate pool said text based information was a must, interspersed short video and audio clips. They also said a webinar element both live and archived was important. The stressed the need for small group interaction and self-directed learning.
We also queried the groups about two planned courses: “A Crash Course in n Public Speaking” and “Narrowing your Speaker Topic.” Those surveyed said they would be very interested in such courses and would like other concepts as well. They were interested in learning about their audiences, understanding national patient advocacy strategy, and wanted to see great speeches. Requests were made to learn how to better harness presentation tools like Power Point, Keynote, and Prezzi. Most responders thought a best speeches segment and “What not to do" presented in a short video format would be well received.
Now Playing in Theaters Near You
We wanted to get a gauge on which organizations were currently inviting patient speakers and found out that there was a wide range of venues. Many of the advocates had spoken before RWJ Foundation, IHI, HIMSS, HealthCamp, and Health 2.0. They had spoken before hospitals, Quality Care Organizations, Beacon Communities, Legislatures, White House Initiatives, Medical Insurers, Therapy Groups, Medical Schools, Data Users Groups, Social Service Agencies, Venders and Medical Conferences.
Patient speakers were beginning to show up at many venues. And like any good fly on the wall they were listening for more opportunities to spread the word, often handing out piles of business cards at each engagement. They also were utilizing their social media contacts to disseminate the information gathered at each venue to spread across the many silos of thought and culture.
From Honoraria to Invoicing for Oratory
As patient advocates are viewed as more than a one-off story, their stature changes to that of a professional patient speaker. Within this transition, a speaker goes from speaking without recompense, to speaking while receiving honoraria, to a point that their participation has become so valuable that they are working under a speakers/lecturers contract. Many speakers are doing their advocacy speaking with little business support; I asked our pool if they would be interested in guidance and help within the world of invoicing and contracts. Almost uniformly the survey respondent requested help. Many wished to know current appropriate pay scales, and asked questions about tax liability. Suggestions on bookkeeping, fee negotiation and how to deal with delinquent payment were also very much on the mind of many of the advocates.
On Ratings and Rankings
We asked speakers to consider what would be the most important elements of their speaker profile. Several of the speakers said they were not interested in a linear format of information, but said the key elements were: Name, 3 Topics, Contact now, Photo, testimonials/Patient Story, audio/video, slideshare, website/social media, location, Bio/short CV, honoraria/speaker fee, contact email/phone and a yelp-like ranking system populated by organizations that had hired said speakers.
The group cautioned against video only, as video is blocked at many facilities. Likewise some recommended imbedding a Twitter feed vs. a hot button link to twitter as social media sites are blocked at many institutions. They strongly encouraged the ability to rank speakers. Some speakers encouraged designing this site to work on smart phone platforms as many of those researching speakers may have to use their personal devices to view blocked video.
Playing “Ring Around the Rosy” on the Landing Page
I asked those surveyed if we could feature speakers on the landing page how should that be done. This question had very divided answers. Some thought it should be completely random, some randomized with priority, some based on audience interest using analytics, and others thought it should be based on trending interest.
"Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say" -William Shakespeare
I asked how should these speakers be marketed and how should we promote the site. The advocates responded overwhelmingly that they would market themselves and the others in the portal using the tools of social media, during their own speeches and while networking at conferences. They said they would like it if TMIT would help promote, but they would use their passion, connections and grass-roots activism to promote as well.
As far as creating awareness for the site itself, they recommended a press release, emailing all contacts, partner with consumer organizations and populate the site with an exclusive list of vetted speakers. They also recommended using technology to create widgets to imbed on sites that support our mission, tag and link back through our blogs and enable a comments section.
What shall we name the Baby?
Like any good parent who has been thinking of the upcoming birth of their child, we have been concentrating in the design and care of our site. But it also must have a name. We could call it many names, but the most popular were along the lines of Patient Speakers, Patient Speakers Bureau, and The Patient Voice.
It was great to talk with so many wonderful folks during this process. And I would be very interested read your thoughts in the comment section. I think we are on the brink of cultural shift on how we view patient participation within medical care on a local and national policy scale. I am glad I met Chuck Denham and the other great folks at TMIT who are realizing a dream that many of us have been hoping for these past years. I am glad this portal can be part of that, and am proud to be a speaker as well as the “painting fly” upon the wall.
Yes, Dave wrote his post for the need for this portal back on January 24th 2009. And that same day my husband posted this:
I cannot help but wonder how different our lives would be if this portal was around five years ago instead. Would Fred have seen birthdays four and five as well?
In the nights preceding The Walking Gallery, I was frantically painting. In those last two weeks I was functioning on 3-4 hours of sleep each night. One the evening of June 5th, I received a phone call. Now, I don’t get many phone calls. I communicate mostly by email, Facebook, Twitter and Text. I answered the phone with paintbrush in hand. On the line was a voice that said, “ Hi, I am Matthew and I am organizing help for upcoming events with Organizing For America and we would love it if you would be able to volunteer.”
Once upon a time I did phone solicitation, so I was not going to brush off Matthew. A cold call is a really hard thing to do. But I was kind of busy, so I said, “I would love to help out but I am painting non-stop for a gallery show in less than two days. Could you call me back?” Mathew said he would. Then I asked Matthew, “Would you come to the Gallery Show? It will be from 6:00-9:00 Tuesday night in the new Kaiser Center for Total Health near Union Station.” He said he would try and I hung up and went back to painting.
The gallery show was a smashing success. Mid-way through the evening, a tall thin young man I did not recognize came up to me.
He said “Hi, I am Matthew Metz from Organizing for America, we talked on the phone the other night… This is so great I am glad I came! I absolutely loved your art exhibit! I have been to a lot of exhibits, but never before have I been to an exhibit as meaningful as yours. Your speech incredible, the art was amazing, and I loved the interactive wall! I would love the chance to learn more about your artwork! Thank you so much for telling me about your exhibit, I really had a great time! My parents started an art museum in Burlington, VT. I told them about what I saw and they were so jealous!”
I was so happy. There were a lot of people I was happy to see at the Gallery, and I met many for the first time. But Matthew took a leap of faith. He had cold called me, and was willing to listen to my request and not just stick to a pitch.
So yesterday, I volunteered with Organizing for America to register voters in Virginia. I met a lot of dedicated volunteers and staffers like Matthew Metz and Kouri C. Marshall, who was recognized in 2009 by EnVest Foundation as one of the top "40 under 40"leaders in The DC area.
Mathew told me we would be riding with Jon Mandel. We took a very winding and slightly confused path trying to navigate the interstate and the massive road construction. The great thing about the trip was its circuitous nature allowed for wide-ranging discussion. Because of this, I found out Jon works for Ketchum and is part of the PR push for consumer awareness of Electronic Health Records and their great potential for improving medicine. We then left Matthew somewhat behind in conversation as we talked about Lygeia Ricciardi , Josh Seidman, Ted Smith and Farzad Mostashari. Matthew joined back in when he began describing patient stories within his family. I promptly followed both Matthew and Jon on Twitter so we could continue this conversation online.
We finally arrived at the rally point to encourage Virginian’s to register to vote. The Virginia Fairfax DNC folks wanted us to drive to the Vienna Metro to register folks. We were rather upset by this. Why had we had driven such a long way to drive to a metro? We could have used metro to participate. Then I looked at the forms we using, they were all available online. We could have printed these out at home or at the DNC in Washington and spent more time registering people. We finally ended up trying to register voters at a local mall. We did our best, but Matthew was the clear winner in getting the most forms filed out.
On the way back to DC, I checked my email and I saw another vote was happening online. Modern Healthcare.com was hosting a vote for the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare. I was very excited to see many of the names on the list. But alas you can only vote for 5 of those listed. As I looked through the list I was happy to see Don Berwick, Maureen Bisignono, Carolyn Clancy, Charles Denham, Lucian Leape, and Farzad Mostashari. But as I began checking through the list of 300 plus names, I saw very few of them had accounts on Twitter. I decided to start sending out tweets in support of voting for Farzad and Chuck because they are really cool and understand the patient voice. But also they are embracing social media and the give and take relationship that mode of communication requires.
I created a Wordle of all the names of those nominated with their titles. Do think this is an image of what influences us in Healthcare?
I think we are on the cusp of great change within healthcare. A top down influence paradigm is changing into one of connectedness. As we travel father down this path of shared decision-making, social media in healthcare, and the Partnership with Patients, we will all need people to consider embracing new titles and tools to truly influence healthier decisions.
Please consider voting for Farzad Mostashari and Charles Denham as 2 of the most influential people in healthcare, because they tweet. Because they talk to all of us and like my new friends Jon and Matthew, they are meeting with us where we are.
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