February 2012
1 post
“FOCUS ON WELL-BEING, NOT GROWTH The recognition that countries have not grown...”
– 5 Big Ideas For A New Economy | Co.Exist: World changing ideas and innovation
January 2012
7 posts
WellnessFX: A New Model For Premium Preventative... →
What do you think of this model? Would you spend $650 annually on diagnostic tests if you didn’t have health insurance? Reminds me a bit of Qliance in Seattle. My one qualm: If you want to be the back-end of health data, work a bit on your visualization and UI design.
Health Gadgets Galore
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was last week and while I wasn’t there in person, it appears that another generation of health devices, gadgets and apps were on-display. Based on reports from the tech and design reporters in attendance, the contenders with the best shot at commercializing (and profiting from) the quantification of personal health data are the new Nike+Fuelband and...
Fork in the Road Drives The Grocery Store To Food... →
An interesting concept that we’re seeing pop up here in WA state, too.
“So much for the blithering silliness of Prochaska and Di Clement’s Stages...”
– AWR 603 - Outsourcing Wellness Goals? And Much More - 1-6-2012
December 2011
8 posts
“Wellness has been used to help sell dog food, quack remedies and no end of...”
– The Word on Wellness | The Psychology of Wellbeing
US road accident casualties: every one mapped... →
An interesting (if sad) interactive graphic of road casualties over the past 10 years. Limiting road deaths would dramatically improve our nation’s health ranking, though we in WA state tend to do pretty well avoiding injuries by protecting ourselves with bike helmets and seat belt use.
“In summary, the U.S. health care system is, in fact, the best in the world—for...”
– Regardless of what you think of Don’s often opinionated rhetoric, this article does a terrific job both summarizing the current state of U.S. medical care and offering tantalizing alternatives based on wellness & quality of life initiatives.
The Time to be Healthy is Now, the Place to be...
November 2011
6 posts
The Business About My Breasts - Forbes →
Powerful example of story-telling.
“Salutogenesis is a term coined by Aaron Antonovsky,[1] a professor of medical...”
– Salutogenesis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
“For starters, know that there are many paths to happiness, but most (like sex,...”
– Happiness As A Key Element of REAL Wellness
October 2011
4 posts
The Patient Maker
Those that control the meaning and definition of words are kingmakers. The problem is that the war over words rarely gets waged in the public’s eye. There are, of course, exceptions - the queer movement’s effort to reclaim and redefine a previously derogatory term serves as a sterling example. The film Orgasm, Inc. reveals a similar struggle that played out over the past ten years as...
5 Storytelling Concepts That Health Care Firms Are... →
The Semantics of Empowerment
Em·pow·er/emˈpouər/verb
Give (someone) the authority or power to do something.
Enable (someone) to do something.
Debating the semantic meaning of words or phrases is an easy way to get people to tune you out. Although it doesn’t necessarily make for great dinner conversation, I’d argue that semantics is an incredibly important and powerful force in our society and culture.
The...
September 2011
12 posts
“However, campaigns like NWF’s ‘Be Out There’ catalogue the myriad benefits of...”
– PSFK Asks The Purple List, What Norms, Systems, & Products Need To Be Reassessed? @PSFK
Is Junk Food Really Cheaper? - NYTimes.com →
Whether you buy Bittman’s argument or not, check out the infographic illustrating the cost breakdown of fast food vs. two different home cooked meals. I do appreciate his point that the alternative to fast food is NOT organic farmer’s market specialities, but rather things you’ll find on the grocer’s shelves… which generally aren’t that bad.
WatchFun video hacking our way to better health through safety.
(via A Bicycle Mod for Two - The Ben Heck Show)
“Design space should emanate from and be oriented around the people that use it,...”
– Shareable: Designing Workspaces for Collaboration
This is from an excellent article outlining design principles for space that promotes collaboration and serendipity. It’s applicable not just to the physical spaces of health care, but to the system as a whole as well.
Stockbox Grocer's Food Desert Solution: The... →
An innovative solution to a stuck problem.
“The best ideas emerge when the whole organizational ecosystem—not just its...”
– Amazon Kindle: A Highlight and Note from Change by Design
Watch(via Stanford’s Entrepreneurship Corner: Randy Komisar, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers - The Biggest Successes are Often Bred from Failures)
“Real innovation requires us to see problems as opportunities, not as threats....”
– And I would add - it’s best if those questions can be wicked.
Problems Are Opportunities, Not Threats « crowdSPRING Blog
3 tags
More Zelda, Less Pinball
Over the Labor Day weekend I watched the documentary Special When Lit, which traces the enduring cultural legacy of pinball machines (and the communities of quirky characters that preserve the old machines).
Special When Lit Trailer from Steam Motion and Sound on Vimeo.
Toward the end of the film, there is a series of comments regarding the rise of arcade and home video games and the...
August 2011
46 posts
8 tags
“To know what you know, and to know that you do not know what you do not...”
– Confucius (via medicalstate)
1 tag
“However, the vocabulary of health care policy is often elastic, and different...”
– Health Care Reform Design Principles for a Patient Centered Consumer Based Market
3 tags
“Similarly, my ability to make good decisions repeatedly falters under the strain...”
– Jesse Gruman from the What It Takes blog at the Prepared Patient Forum was one of two bloggers this week that brought up John Tierney’s NYTimes Magazine article about decision-fatigue (see also Dr. Charles’ Examining Room post). The story (and Gruman’s commentary) highlights the...
3 tags
“Would you rather negotiate with Kim Jong Il right after he gets back from a week...”
– Dr. Charles of the Examining Room also used John Tierney’s NYTimes Magazine article on decision-fatigue as a jumping-off point for discussing the benefits of taking time away - regardless of who you are.
The increase in creativity gained from the liberated perspectives we acquire while on...
5 tags
Grand Rounds
Welcome to this week’s edition of Grand Rounds. You can find the medical blogosphere’s best next week at Covert Rationing.
We’ve taken a different approach this week to organizing Grand Rounds. You can find all the submissions below in this post. But, we’ve also selected quotes from each blog and highlighted those on the main page. Consistent with our themes, we’ve...
3 tags
“You know you have suffered a “networkectomy” when you lose friends,...”
– Don Ardell launches into a pointed and humorous discussion of how technology and web-enabled social networking benefit (and threaten) wellness seekers in his post titled: “Techno Gizmos Sensors and Other Wonderment Devices Combined with Social Networking: A Boon for Wellness or a Road to...
2 tags
“The sad thing is that most patients have gotten used to and, in some cases, like...”
– Stephen Wilkins at Mind the Gap has a different - though complementary - commentary on doctor-patient communications from Jordan Grumet. It’s clearer than ever that to achieve ‘patient- or person-centered care’ we must focus on the fundamentals of high quality conversation and...
4 tags
“When public figures are open about their illnesses, it can be helpful,...”
– Dr. Elaine Schattner of Medical Lessons reminds us that despite our increasingly open society and cultural fascination with celebrities, they too have the right to medical privacy.
Schattner uses Steve Jobs’ recent resignation from Apple’s executive post as an example. Jobs’...
3 tags
“In some cases, to be healthy, wealthy, and wise…we need to make specific efforts...”
– Dr. Steven Seay encourages us to think of selfishness as a key ingredient in promoting better mental health.
I certainly agree that we have a cultural stigmatism attached to the idea that taking care of oneself before others is somehow unbecoming. Dr. Charles’ post illustrates this point by...
3 tags
“But … having said all that, I am pleased to tell you that there is a...”
– Philip Hickey responds to a recent post critiquing a blood test that can supposedly diagnose depression. It was refreshing to read Philip’s take on the test and his acknowledgement that depression is a normal part of the human condition - it’s how we deal with it that ultimately matters.
3 tags
“She tells of the serpent slithering through her spine.
Squeezing her insides...”
– Jordan Grumet of In My Humble Opinion beautifully describes his interaction with an elderly patient and in the process illuminates the foundation of doctor-patient (and truly human) relationships: communication and a willingness to listen.
2 tags
“It’s amazing that it took cancer and a trip to China to realize —...”
– Despite a few hiccups in the process, Beth Gainer (Calling the Shots blog) passionately tells the story of adopting her now-three year old daughter from China.