Fear seems to be a universal theme in healthcare. I see it everywhere.
Doctors are afraid. Hospital administrators worry. Industry jumps at its own shadow. We fear malpractice, privacy transgressions and issues with federal compliance. Most of us are afraid of new things. But what we need most is new new perspectives and new ways of doing things.
Take social dialog, more specifically. Doctors hide behind fear of lawsuits. Hospital administrators play the HIPAA card. Industry plays the a victim of government.
Fear may be the single biggest factor holding us from real innovation in health care. Patients seem to be the most fearless. As the recipients of a depersonalized system for so many years perhaps they see themselves as having nothing to lose and everything to gain. Young people are also fearless – ignorance is bliss. Perhaps we need to put a bunch of 20-year-old patients in charge of changing health care.
Most of us are afraid of something. Strategies for health care innovation need to address this culture of fear as a critical first step toward buy-in.
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I’m twenty. I’m a lifelong patient due to cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus, and migraines. In my own small way, I’m attempting to change healthcare. I just hope I have peers willing to help along the way.
This fear doesn’t even match the fear I’ve had as I’ve endured 7 brain surgeries. No, changing healthcare isn’t cake, but change in anything that affects people for the better is a marvelous thing, and I don’t know about you, but I want to be a part of something marvelous!
Thanks for this, DrV!
I’m not twenty, I’m over twice that…but I am a 2nd year medical student poised to reenter clinical medicine after two years of immersion in the basic sciences…after 12 years in the trenches of medicine as a Physician Assistant…
The past two years have been very, very hard. However, they have been a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the “rights” and “wrongs” of our health care system, as well as look at the explosion of social media and patient advocacy. One theme I see over and over is the development of such an expansion of the adversarial relationship between patients towards health care enhanced by the “echo chamber” that social media sometimes turns out to be. I can certainly understand this in the context of being “the recipients of a depersonalized system for so many years.” This cannot continue. And the only way that we, as health care providers, can stem that is to get out and play in the social media world…to do otherwise would be as anachronistic as not having a telephone in your office because “the best communication with patients only occurs face to face.”
But to respond to your question: “Most of us are afraid of something. Strategies for health care innovation need to address this culture of fear as a critical first step toward buy-in.” I think the way we address this fear is through trust. The only way we can obtain that trust is by transparency and equality. I think the only way we can achieve that is by making health, not the pursuit of profit, our goal.
Wow. Beautifully said. Thank you. You need to turn that into a post.
Thank you Dr.V it’ll be part of my introductory posts for @LancentStudent…
Hello, I have never posted on your board before but I found this “Fear” article very good and one that hits me everyday working with patients. I have been a family nurse practitioner for ten years doing family practice, hormone replacement for men, women, and managing other hormone disorders, along with weight loss. I find fear due to limited time as my practice is high volume. I am always afraid of missing something; so, if I feel a gut response to a particular problem I work slower with appropraite interventions until I am sure to correctly diagnose a disorder and make the necessary treatment. Like Michael Moore said “making health our goal”; that is my focus preventing disease and bringing the individual to a healthier state of life encompassing the whole person not just a fragment of the underlying problem. Sometimes this involves a healthcare team of specialists to be involved to achieve this.
Also, I am a a strong believer in health using myself as example for my patients. I am a weight lifter, competitor showing patients it is never to late to begin transformation of their body through lifestyle changes exercise and a clean diet.
Great post Nancy! The power of example (and accountability) is something that we miss so often in health care…and incidentally one thing that social media can help bridge between patients and providers.
“Also, I am a a strong believer in health using myself as example for my patients. I am a weight lifter, competitor showing patients it is never to late to begin transformation of their body through lifestyle changes exercise and a clean diet.” Which I can’t agree with more…I still run a marathon a month in my late 40′s (which you can’t accomplish if you don’t exercise regularly and keep your diet and lifestyle in check) so I can be example to my patients and fellow providers before they develop habits that will take 20 years off their life expectancy…but imagine a world where our habits are displayed to those we coach in health, and they see “Nancy is at the gym” or “Mike is out running” and they know that they should do the same thing to. Just something to think about.
Thank you, Nancy. I’m amazed at what people read into my posts sometime. Keeps me going.