Health Care Strategist

9 Health Care Jobs Expected to Grow by 2018 #3: Public Relations Specialists As the health care industry becomes more technologically savvy, smartphones and social media will become more common tools of the trade, in addition to traditional machinery. Therefore, hospital public relations will grow 52%. #9: Customer Service Representatives Hospitals are trending toward customer service satisfaction, conducting surveys and becoming more attentive to patients as customers. Therefore, expect to see this field in health care grow 52%.

Somewhere in Texas, I think.

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." (Scott Adams (1957 - ), 'The Dilbert Principle')

I'm wasn't sure 2011's waning days needed yet another list of some kind, but Harvard Business Review's list of audacious ideas is pretty good.  Why audacious ideas? "(Because) even though (businesses are) sitting on $2 trillion in cash, they’re risk-averse, strategically incremental, and notably lacking in fresh ideas. "We think this stinks. The world needs invention and daring now more than ever.  Now is the time for audacity, not austerity. " So here's HBR's list (the full article requires registration.) Tackling the World Economy Give People Shares of GDP, by Robert J. Shiller Double Down on Start-ups, by Bruce Gibney and Ken Howery Partner with China in Afghanistan, by Wayne Porter Enroll the World in For-Profit Universities, by Parag Khanna and Karan Khemka Tackling Science Challenges Give NASA a Real Mission, by Gregg Easterbrook Declare 20% of the Ocean Off-Limits, by Enric Sala Electrify the Bottom of the Pyramid, by...

Reportedly Steve Jobs' final words about Apple's long-rumored venture into the thickets of TV programming.  So has Apple, indeed, "cracked it?"  Let's hope so. Analyst Shaw Wu on why Apple should enter the TV business: “What’s missing is live broadcast television,” he wrote. “One obvious way to offer this is via the traditional way where a user subscribes to cable or satellite. But a more revolutionary, disruptive and differentiated way, is via the internet or IPTV which would be more in-line with its iTunes and iCloud model. Because of the high dependence on content providers, we believe exact timing is difficult to pinpoint.” He added, “We continue to hear what AAPL would love to do is offer users the ability to choose their own customized programming, i.e., whichever channels/shows they want for a monthly subscription fee. This is obviously much more complicated from a licensing standpoint. And in our view, would change the game for television and g...

Health care expert faces his wife’s cancer .

"The ideal candidate will be a dynamic and exceptional leader with documented success in leadership, management, strategic planning, and execution of the strategic plan and vision. This candidate will have the ability to analyze problems and develop systems to accurately control the human, physical, financial, and informational resources of the organization. The CEO will have excellent communication and presentation skills at a professional level. Not only will the successful candidate serve as a highly visible role model to all, he or she must also develop positive working relationship with the RCHA board of directors, medical staff, community leaders and employees." (12/21/2011) Contact: Stacey Sibley Human Resources Manager Rochelle Community Hospital 900 N 2nd Street Rochelle, IL 61068 Fax 815-561-3125 No phone calls or recruiters please (Disclaimer: I'm beginning to post interesting healthcare-related job opportunities as they come to my attention.  These ...

A grad-school colleague once described his hobby – military history – as stories of luck and pluck stitched end-to-end.  Stories replete with derring-do and narrow escapes.  Suffering losses bravely while hoping for the occasional happy ending. I feel much the same way about hospital customer service anecdotes (except there’s more unnecessary deaths and even fewer happy endings.) Still, I can’t help regaling you with another adventure through healthcare's minefields. A friend’s father recently sought treatment for a leg infected with what appeared to be a nasty staph infection. A late-Saturday ER visit resulted in his admission and the first of what was supposed to be multiple doses of IV antibiotics. Now this is a well-regarded hospital with a spanking new facility, a member of one of the industry’s most highly-regarded national systems. So far so good, right? At 4:30 P.M. the next day, as the attending physician reviewed the chart, she wondered why no antibiotics ...

"In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you." Leo Tolstoy (1828 - 1910)

"The trouble in corporate America is that too many people with too much power live in a box (their home), then travel the same road every day to another box (their office)." - Faith Popcorn, The Popcorn Report, 1991  Many pundits and more organizations are, rather suddenly, talking about innovation - what it is, how to do it, whether it offers a cure to what ails health care. It's a long-time theme here on Health Care Strategist and if I could offer would-be innovators one bit of free advice, it would be this: get out more .  You'll never get where you want to go from where you are.   Boring, predictable, comfortable, sameness and routine are deadly to innovative thinking. So see the world. Read voraciously and widely. Confront challenging ideas. Blow through your comfort zones. Chat up strangers (not counting new members at the country club.) In fact, if you're serious about innovation and ideas, resign from the CC and hang out at a soup kitchen...

"Your idea doesn't have to be big. It just has to be yours alone. The more the idea is yours alone, the more freedom you have to do something really amazing. The more amazing, the more people will click with your idea. The more people click with your idea, the more it will change the world." - (Hugh Macleod, How To Be Creative: 2, 08-22-04"

And your manager of chronic diseases. And your pharmacist. And maybe your health coach. They could even play in your ACO sandbox. In response to the article, Wal-Mart says they’re NOT, repeat NOT “… building a national, integrated low-cost primary health care platform..." OK, got it.  Not. Unless, of course, they are. It’s hard to deny their interest when a few scant weeks ago the retailer sent out a request for partners to help it "dramatically ... lower the cost of healthcare ... by becoming the largest provider of primary healthcare services in the nation." It's no surprise that hospitals and physicians face stiff competition from unexpected directions.  These deep-pocketed newcomers care not a fig for our outdated business models, our glacial decision-making and our ability to pervert most innovations that might disrupt the status quo. [Read more from NPR blogs...]

We're shaking up healthcare with social innovation, says John Soloninka, CEO of the Health Technology Exchange:   "Health systems have been very slow to innovate and we under-realize our return from our investment in medical research and human resources. What we need is a health system that can distill and articulate its high priority problems, share them to the innovation community (internally and externally), reward innovators and facilitate rapid implementation of "disruptive" technologies. HTX is interested in My Healthcare Innovation as a way of creating and interconnecting communities of interest to share problems and best practices, while maintaining a safe and secure environment for frank discussion." [Read more...]

I'm sorry Mr. President. I know a little something about Teddy Roosevelt and you're not him. He fought for this country. You wrote law review articles. He was a true outdoorsman and naturalist. You play golf, summer on Martha's Vineyard and wouldn't know a morel from a moral. He said "Speak softly and carry a big stick." You deliver great speeches and, well, that's pretty much all. Next time you channel someone, pick a lesser light.  You won't suffer so badly by comparison. (Image from here , based on Creative Commons search.)

Ford Exec To Keynote Digital Health Event At CES : Gary Strumolo, global manager of health, wellness, interiors and infotainment for Ford Research and Innovation will be the day one luncheon keynote speaker for the Digital Health Summit at the 2012 International CES. From the article: "Just as mobile has enabled Americans to take a more active role in managing their health and well-being, automobile manufacturers like Ford are looking to develop a series of health and wellness in-car connectivity solutions designed to empower people with self-help information while they drive, " said Jill Gilbert, co-producer, Digital Health Summit. "As the most progressive automobile brand in the health space, Ford has both the credibility and expertise to share insights on next generation innovations around consumer oriented health and wellness solutions on the go ." "Leveraging the Ford Sync connectivity platform and its ability to connect to mobile devices via Blueto...

Winners of the Making More Health Competition Bring Fresh Innovation to Solving Problems in Health Example: ColaLife - piggybacking simple medicines on soft drink supply chains, saving lives in underserved areas of rural Africa. Medicine has a hard time getting to where it's needed but cola is everywhere. Why not combine the two? Great idea!