Docs for Change…

… a room full of them.  This past week I was asked to speak at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.  The name of the gathering was called Transformation, a Symposium on Innovative Health Care Delivery. It was an unbelievable couple of days; an opportunity to hear and discuss new ideas, insights, methods and models for designing the future of medical practice and patient care.  The symposium started with Larry Keeley (Doblin Inc.), who is right up there at the top of the list when it comes to the subject of innovation.  If you have not seen his ten types of innovation, you should,… it makes it so clear why some market launches take hold and others do not.  Larry then outlined where he thought the focus of healthcare innovation would yield the greatest results (e.g., tailored healthcare service and stretching resources in new ways).  He ended by encouraging everyone to be curious, confident and courageous,… great coaching.

There were too many excellent speakers to review them all, but there are a couple that really caught my attention.  One is Jane Fulton Suri, Chief Creative Officer at world renowned IDEO.  As a spokesperson for human centered design, Jane used photographs to show how the simple act of looking at a process through the eyes of the user, gives one an entirely different perspective.  For one project they had a design researcher play the role of a patient, using a video camera at the side of their head to capture exactly what the patient sees before, during and after a surgery procedure.  It created an emotional stir in the audience,… as they saw first hand just how unnerving and unforgiving the patient’s experience is, as they lay flat on their back on the hospital gurney.

The last I would like to mention is Michael Howe, CEO of MinuteClinic.  What caught my attention was the how cost effective and accessible MinuteClinic,… it’s been referred to as the 7-Eleven of patient acute care.  It proves that you don’t have to be everything to everyone to be valued.  MinuteClinic makes a few procedures available to large audiences, by integrating their service into the consumer’s lifestyle.  They locate where people frequent such as shopping areas,… how brilliant is that.  Get a Starbuck’s cappuccino and a flu shot as you shop for a new pair of shoes.

These three speakers, as well as other presenters, urged the doctors and medical professionals to seriously consider their role in driving innovative change.  It’s not going to happen on its own.  It takes their getting involved.  This is true of any business, not just healthcare.  Look all around you for the seeds of innovation are generally right in front of your eyes.  You know what’s not working, what creates a hassle for your users, the process redundancies and inefficiencies you work-around every day.  So just as Larry Keeley suggested; be curious, in your search for opportunities; be confident, that you can make a difference; and be courageous, in taking action to shape your future.  You in shape…?