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

"Under Oveur and Over Unger"

If you haven't seen Airplane I and Airplane II you need to watch them. In my last blog I promised the next one would be about medication management. Sorry, but this about my travels to the #HIMSS14 conference. I decided to write about an experience on my travels from Indiana to Orlando and how it pertains to innovation. I have had my shares of bad experiences while flying. (More bad experiences than good ones.) When I went to pick up my Google GLASS I had the worst and most costly experience traveling to San Francisco. I will not name any airlines, but lets put it this way there was more money spent on travel than actually getting GLASS. Well, today was a completely wonderful experience. The last time I flew Delta was three years ago, and my experience with Delta was and had been awful. The last time I flew with Delta I swore there was going to be a throw down between my wife and the person taking care of our boarding pass. This was a consistent experience I have had with this company. We wrote a few formal complaints. I swore I would never fly with them again. Well on short notice I needed to book a flight to Orlando, and the most convenient one was Delta. While my last experience was three years ago I still held a grudge, but I needed a flight so that is what I chose. I arrived to the airport at 0630 this morning and saw the line for checking in baggage and I thought to myself, "This is going to be an awful day." I walked up to the front counter and the person behind the desk actually introduced himself. He interacted with me! He said, "Aaron thank you for choosing Delta enjoy your flight". What was going on? Did he just call me by my first name? I am not a sky priority member so why was he being so nice? I went through the whole TSA drill. (Funny thing was that they said all electronics need to go through xray and I totally forgot I was wearing GLASS) I go to my gate and use my QR code boarding pass. I thought to myself, "It's just that easy." All of the crew on my first flight were courteous and noticed me as a customer. After my layover in Hotlanta I boarded the plane. I walk by everyone in first class thinking the same thing that I always think, "I wish I had that much leg room." I get to the back of the plane and sit down, and as usual someone said, "Is that?" I said, "Google GLASS, why yes it is". We started talking about how awesome it is, and then she started talking about the screens on the back of the seats in front of us. I was thinking these touch screens are just another way for me to pay more money. She said, "You have to watch the safety video it's great." Who says that? Here is how you buckle your seat belt, here are the exits, and while you are flying over land if we hit a lake here is your flotation device, and if a mask falls from the ceiling put it on your face first then help your neighbor. Well the plane was getting ready to take off and there was an announcement from the CEO of Delta about how they care about our safety, and he tells us to please watch the safety video. I watched it, and laughed the whole time. Not because I was making fun of it, but because it was actually funny and engaging. Most of you have seen it, but if you haven't I won't ruin it for you because I am attaching it to this blog. The flight takes off, and I notice my screen has options for games, tv shows, and movies. I was thinking that there had to be a catch to this. I mean my battery on my phone was going dead at the terminal and while I was charging it I actually downloaded games to play on the plane and thought about buying some TV episodes. I looked through the TV shows since it was only an hour flight, and I found free new episodes of Shark Tank. What?!? That is one of my favorite shows. I hooked up my headphones and started watching it. I was able to start the next episode and it stopped. I actually was frustrated that we landed because I did't get to see what happened to the guy pitching waffles that gave you energy. I get off of the plane, check in to my room, go to TGIF and I started thinking, to myself " man that wasn't a bad trip". I realized that Delta listened to our letter, (Yep that's right my wife and I saved Delta) I know that is not true, but they did listen to everyone's complaint. They took it seriously, and really thought about how they could make the experience better for the customer. They realized it was more than getting someone from point A to point B. It was how the experience was for the person getting from Point A to point B. They were innovative. They had me engaged from take off to landing. Some of these solutions were a culture change, but some of them probably were costly. If Delta can make me not dread my flight it makes me wonder if we can do the same for patients. They were innovative, and the status quo was unacceptable. When are we going to realize that in healthcare? When are we going to realize the status quo is unaacepable? Are we not all here for the patient or customer? Shouldn't we invest in the experience? Innovation is just realizing the status quo is unacceptable so you figure out how to make it better. Delta finally realized their customers were frstrated, and with a little bit of investment and innovation they made getting from Point A to Point B a little more painless. We need to realize that the status quo is unacceptable in our healthcare system. We need to realize that with a little bit of innovation and investment we can make our patients have a better experience. We can engage our patients if we think outside of the box. I get that you may think I am comparing apples to oranges, but the truth is the concept is the same. Patients are not engaged, they are not watching our safety videos. I try to observe the world around me. I pay attention, and customer service is top priority for all successful businesses. I stated above that I thought about writing this while I was at TGIF. The reason I thought of this was that I actually knew both of my servers names without name tags. They literally shook my hand and said my name is so and so if there is anything you need let me know. It took them 10 seconds to do that, and it made a world of difference.This is when I looked back on waking up this morning expecting this day to be awful, and it ended up being really awesome. It made me think that these companies have these processes in place to make you feel important. Delta didn't get better because of our letter, collectively we screamed loud enough that it made the company become more transparent. I hope that #HIMSS14 shows me that people are truly trying to challenge the status quo in healthcare, because from my point of view we are the Delta experience I remember just three years ago, and I hate that feeling.

@AaronLitherland