Why yet another patient experience blog? What can I add to the conversation that hasn’t been said already? Well, hopefully something. Otherwise, I’m just fine-tuning my writing skills. So what do I bring to the table?
#1: As the husband of someone with multiple autoimmune conditions, I’ve had a front row seat for the past 21 years to the trials and tribulations of a chronic disease sufferer. It truly has been a giant game of Whack-a-Mole, not just with the health problems that constantly crop up but also in dealing with all the players in our healthcare ecosystem – many of whom are cold, uncaring, and/or incompetent. (Apologies to all those who’ve been warm, caring, and competent)
#2: Two years ago, I was a hospital inpatient (more on that in the next post). It made me wonder if anyone in the hospital’s administration ever spent a second thinking through the patient experience.
This blog is about the struggles of ordinary patients and the bright spots in the system – be they clever health apps, great healthcare providers, innovative ways to deliver healthcare, new medications, you name it – that have given some power back to the patient. I plan to highlight both the struggles and the various tools that have been created to help patients in their fights.
My hope is that I can, in some small way, provide insights and info to help pharma companies, hospitals, insurers, digital health entrepreneurs, physicians, the patients themselves, and all the other participants in the healthcare system to create more and better patient-empowering tools. And maybe, just maybe, in the process patients will feel less like pinballs helplessly careening through their journeys and more like actual human beings with some control over their lives.
