The Day I Got It - We CAN Do Better
David P. Ryan
?? Intrapreneur ?? Fortune 10 Tech | Global GM P&L ??Startup CEO | Board Member ??Scalable Growth Engines | AI/ML, Compute Platforms | Industry Solutions ??World 1st’s, Turnarounds, Incubation
I am regularly asked ‘why’ I am so passionate about healthcare transformation.?I always answer, but I usually make it short and easy to get through quickly. Here’s a longer version of my story.?
Everyone has a story to tell
First, let’s remember that everyone working on health & life science innovation has a story. Usually, a very personal story.?We are all customers of the healthcare system – every one of us, all of our parents, grandparents, kids, grandkids, friends and neighbors.?Healthcare is personal.?Equally, if not more personal than religion, politics or that other thing.
As a semiconductor professional still growing into and trying to figure out what a career is about, my healthcare life experience had been too easy.?Too privileged.?I can remember house calls as a young child to treat a serious allergy.?Cured.?As an overcommitted high school student, my doctor –?a neighbor –?invited me over to his house to hang out, drink iced tea and discuss how to deal with my stress.?Cured.?My next brush with healthcare was an emergency appendectomy, and the overwhelming relief at the elimination of the excruciating pain. Cured.?Later, as my wife struggled to give birth to our daughter in a private suite at the very shiny local hospital, we pivoted to an unplanned C-section and voila, cured.?Welcome little one!
I Was Oblivious
I had been oblivious to how severe the paper jungle was that tortured those doctors, nurses and administrators every day.?And at just how dangerous paper records could be in terms of patient safety and creation of medical errors.?A few years later, that all changed for me in a profound way, in a matter of days.
My 75-year young mother had insisted on being my slightly-older dad’s caregiver, at their home, for years as Parkinson’s and dementia ravaged him. The family had pretty much given up tyring to convince our Depression-era/Greatest Generation Mom/Dad to move to assisted living and out of their long time home. But then, in the Fall of 2003, I got a surprise call from Mom that she felt it was time to move Dad to an assisted facility where he could get additional care and she could relax a bit. I immediately left the office, picked up bag of clothes and hopped the first flight to Phoenix to help out throughout the process, and to be sure Mom didn't change her mind.?
The Day It All Changed
After touring several great facilities together, Mom collapsed.?She was wisked to the nearby hospital, which turned out to be one of the nation’s top 100 heart hospitals.?I thought that was good news when I learned that she needed a double heart valve transplant. But after the surgery, she would not wake up.?Six weeks later, after effectively living in the ICU as her advocate working in partnership with eleven (11) medical specialities, and stricly adhereing to her Living Will, I signed the paperwork to transition her to comfort care and hospice.?A paper-based system had assured that she would never wake up.
After a thorough review, there were no fewer than four medical errors made to her care due to paper-based records, including repeated errors related to a drug allergy.?Throughout the experience, I was impressed at how educated, caring and passionate each and every one of the clinical staff was.?And, I was shocked at how backwards and anachronistic the system was that they had to work in every day.?Beyond the emotions of the situation, witnessing firsthand the inefficiencies of a paper-based system ignited my passion to use the power of information technology to help the healthcare system.???
An Ending + a New Beginning
I had Mom-watch in hospice on what turned out to be her last night.?The hospice medical staff had told me that her body was shutting down but that she was holding on mightily and might not be ready to go for concerns about Dad.?She appeared unconscious, but they said she knew I was there.?Early into my ‘shift’, I leaned over and quietly told Mom that Dad was already moved into the best memory care unit that we had seen together, that it was fully covered by their insurance and there were no financial worries at all.?I summarized her medical status for her, told her that I loved her, and finished by telling her that it was ok to go if she was ready.
I fell asleep, only to be awaken by the nurse a short time later to tell me that Mom was gone.?
That's my personal story. And, to this day, I am certain that with information technology, we *can* do better.
Coach and Mentor with Lake Grove Job Seekers
2 年I'm sure your mother would have been joyously proud of you for turning her tragedy into better health outcomes for so many. Keep going.
Healthcare & IT Strategy, Innovation, and Change Management:
2 年Thank you for sharing
Regional Clinical Manager Eastern US Neurocrine Bioscience Inizio Engage
2 年Dave, I commend you for taking action in a field foreign to you and using what was familiar to improve a very inaccurate system. I’ve been in the medical field for over 40 years, have taken care of many patients, have worked in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries, and have seen the improvements technology has made. We’ve only just begun to understand the potential of some therapies and a good portion of our shared collective knowledge. While there have been many improvements to documentation and patient safety through improved platforms, sadly patient personal care has suffered. Mostly due to the amount of data entry nurses are required to perform. Nurses can’t truly care for their patients in the manner they deserve. Patients are often being neglected or cared for by hard working medical assistants while nurses are dispensing meds and using multiple new technologies to document their actions - often without interacting with the patient (except drug administration). It’s a systemic problem. Nurses desire to care for people. Easier and faster documenting platforms would free up nurses time to spend with their patients .Thank you for your contributions, please continue to listen to the providers of care.
Executive Director at The California Conference for Equality and Justice (CCEJ)
2 年Thanks for sharing your story, Dave.
Procurement/Supply chain buyer analyst at Wells Fargo
2 年Great write Dave. Brought back memories of many conversations that we had had those days. The whole system being broken, was driving you crazy. And I always remember you making a statement “we can do better here.” I vividly remember standing in the hospital room and you saying one of my future goals is to find a way to fix this. The information transfer needs to be streamlined. I remember watching you read the charts page by page every day, and believing that there’s a better way. I remember how you were always concerned about the time it took for paperwork with procedural/informational details that would be needed by the next nurse or doctor, to go between the floors/rooms the hospital. This was a great read.