Here’s a lesson I learn over and over again: Never assume knowledge. Don’t waste your time making a point if you are not sure your audience understands the context for it. Or, as the wise Andy Kohut used to say, “If they don’t get the premise, they won’t get the joke.” Last year I spoke […]
Tracking the trackers
Every day I see a new example of a survey or other tool to collect individual-level experiences with COVID-19. Some are organized at the grassroots, others are sponsored by companies or academic medical centers. Some are for support, others for epidemiology, and still others for clinical discovery. Some would be recognized as patient registries, others […]
Building an intake valve for new ideas
Imagine this: You and your colleagues know there are problems to be solved. You have resources to offer, such as funding, access to experts, and publicity. You are pretty sure there are people with great ideas out there, asking questions, defining the scope of the problems you care about, seeing things that you can’t see. […]
Pandemic problem-solving
The COVID19 pandemic is forcing everyone to learn new skills on the fly. Clinicians are teaching each other how to hotwire a ventilator to serve more than one patient. People are 3D printing spare parts for medical equipment and learning how to sew protective masks. Parents are sharing strategies for convincing their teenagers to stay home – and […]
Surviving a pandemic like an artist
Through her work as a film-maker, Maggie Whittum helps the rest of us make sense of this upside-down world we find ourselves in. And she reminds us that, unfortunately, this disorientation is familiar to people who survive stroke. Andrew Simonet, founder and director of Artists U, recently wrote an essay entitled, “This is What We […]
Why entrepreneurs should listen to patients & caregivers
I am thrilled to share this excerpt from the Harvard Business Review article I wrote, “How Chronic-Disease Patients Are Innovating Together Online”: The internet gives us virtually unlimited access to each other. That deceptively simple insight is an untapped opportunity in health care. When companies are searching for their next idea, they should look to […]
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