Communication in a Litigation Nation

Yesterday I met two lovely older ladies at the airport, and they were very interested in GLASS. They asked me all about them, and how do I see them changing healthcare. I asked them how they see it changing healthcare. After they answered my question they asked me what my goal was with all of this technology. I explained to them that technology was just a tool in my toolbox for improving healthcare. I started to tell them that I did not believe that technology was the answer to all of our problems, and that I was concerned that many people do believe that it is. I am not in the business of creating ignorant clinicians, but in the businesses of connecting the clinicians and patient. I went on to discuss a product that my team has been working on keeping patient's engaged and informed. To my surprise they told me they felt that my tool was wonderful for older patients. I have been told all along that the tool we created was great for younger patients, but would not be embraced by the older population. Now I had two older ladies in front of me explaining how our product was great for the older patient population. The product gave them information, but I wasn't overloading them with it. We were able to provide them with information without them having to sift through that damn interweb. Our design is simplistic enough that it wasn't overwhelming. Three buttons gets a person what they need when they need it. It is a communication tool, and if we are going to survive in this new healthcare structure you need two things: Transparency and Communication. With those two things you will be set. So we talked about how I was trying to empower and engage patients, and that our companies goal was to make them to feel like they were part of the healthcare team. I explained to them that I recently went to a group of clinicians and showed them our product, and that these clinicians hated it. I asked them why they think a clinician would not be open to this product. Immediately one of the ladies said, "because they are scared." I asked, "What? Scared of patients knowing what is going on?", and she answered, "No they are scared of a patient suing them. We live in a litigation nation." That's a powerful observation! A patient did not blame the clinician, they actual answered a question that I had previously had no answer for. I truly never thought of being worried about my license ever being on the line. I really thought that it was my job to do no harm, and to always take care of the patient. If I did the right thing then there was nothing to worry about. I still feel that way, but we live in a society of fear. Better get yourself that flood insurance even though you live on a mountain, don't use sweetener it will give you cancer, your kids better not go out to play flashlight tag because they will get kidnapped, and chart everything you do in healthcare just in case you get sued. All of this time I was dumbfounded on why a clinician wouldn't want a patient  to be empowered. Why would a person that went to school to take care of people not want the patient to know what they were doing? I feel it that the patient owns their healthcare record, and I feel that we need to be giving them access to it. I also feel that this lady that I was talking to made a valid point. Clinicians are scared, they are not wanting to be scared, but our society has made them that way. Malpractice lawsuits truly don't ever get that far, if they end up in court there is usually a good reason why they did. It doesn't matter that I say that, because that isn't what you hear from your peers or the news. You only hear the bad stories, and they are all one-sided. Technology and innovation is a great thing, but be careful. Sometimes it is not the solution,  and sometimes there are down-trickle effects that you didn't think of. Who would have though 15 years ago that texting and driving would be a problem? Do you really think that when texting was put out into the consumer market they really thought about people driving and texting? No they thought we will make lots of money and help people communicate faster. If you truly care about the patient then you will think about the effects that your product has on the patient and the clinician, and not the amount of money that goes in your pocket. Innovation and thinking outside the box is what healthcare needs, but take a holistic approach when you create a solution. Both the patient and the clinician need to benefit from your solution or you are doing more harm than good. Our product is still awesome, and I feel people will warm up to it because we shouldn't live in constant fear. But after that conversation at the airport, I will be reevaluating how I approach an innovative solution to difficult and complex problems in the future.

@AaronLitherland