If you have switched career tracks, what lessons did you learn? What advice would you have for someone entering a new company, organization, or even a new culture? Here’s an excerpt from my 2016 interview with The Public Manager about working for the U.S. government: Most of your career was outside of the federal government. What have […]
innovation
Celebrating innovation as a problem-solving tool in government
On January 6, 2017, I published my final post as the Chief Technology Officer of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. My intended audience included people I’d never met: the incoming agency leadership. I’d written a memo for the transition team, which greets and orients the new leaders, but I wanted to publish a […]
DIY innovation in the hospital
My grandfather, Frank H.J. Figge, was a cancer researcher who faced shortages during World War II and had to improvise to keep his lab going. When he ran short of quartz lenses he remembered hearing that plastic also transmits ultraviolet rays and filled synthetic sausage casings with water to create a perfect — much cheaper — substitute. Nurses have […]
EVENT: Nurses in the Smithsonian spotlight on March 16
The people best suited to solve a problem are often those experiencing it. Experimentation — and documentation — should be part of everyone’s toolbox, no matter where you sit in an organization or hierarchy. Prototypes should be shared, not hidden away. Early feedback is golden. Everyone is a potential innovator. I’m excited to explore these themes and more with Tiffany […]
“HIPAA is SO 1996″
That’s a direct quote from Paul Tang, of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, at last week’s meeting of the Health IT Policy committee, of which he is vice chair. Dr. Tang was riffing on an e-Patient Dave quote, which I read during my testimony: I want innovation at a rate that resembles the rate of […]
Happy Dogs in a Pile of Sticks (Spreading Improvement in Chronic Disease Care)
The California HealthCare Foundation’s Chronic Disease Care conference was so packed with great panels that I needed help choosing my targets. Here is the first in a series of posts about this event. Spreading Improvement: After the Innovators/Early Adopters
Recent Comments