Healthcare Analogies

From the first time I learned what similes, metaphors, and analogies were (Grade 5?), I was fan numero uno. I have been using them personally (not always successfully) ever since and professionally since I joined Medtronic over a decade ago. Here are five of my favourite healthcare analogies from the past and some new ones I heard at the recent Public Sector Network Healthcare Infrastructure Conference (October 2022).

5. "Canada's health-care system is a Chevrolet at Cadillac prices" - Jeffrey Simpson, 2012

While this could be updated to reflect different types of cars (and features... oh the fun we could have with this!!! Go ahead, put them in the comments if you like), the point is clear.

4. "Healthcare procurement in Canada is like trying to buy a flip-phone when smartphones are available" - me, circa 2018

I created this for Neil D. Fraser and was excited that Genevieve Lavertu was also able to use this anecdote successful at a presentation to 加拿大多伦多大学 - 罗特曼管理学院 students. I still use it all the time! It has a few layers: the disconnect between what procurement is asking for and what is available; the need to focus on value; the need to discontinue procuring certain things; and the need for vendors to adapt their selling models.

3. "We should consider something like an Apple Store support team for staff to go to when they need help [with digital tools that have been implemented]". - Duska Kennedy , 2022

Right?!? For medical devices, depending on the complexity, physicians leverage clinical specialists when they need help understand the programming (one device could have 120 different programs!). Having experts on hand for using IT tools should also be easy to access. IT experts are the unsung heroes in the transformation of healthcare!

2. "[Trying to figure out what digital health tool to use is like] going to a restaurant and having a giant menu that leads to analysis paralysis when you are really hungry!" Aviviere T. , 2022

I feel this way about apps and podcasts and can only imagine what it is like in healthcare! Jeff Curtis responded with "it’s more like buying a restaurant than choosing a single meal.?Those who don’t know what it’s like to run a restaurant only know what it’s like to order a meal. They don’t think about how it will last for 20 years. ?They know what they want. ... The stakes are so high right now that it is forcing people to make smaller decisions. It’s less daunting to launch an app (buy a meal) rather than buy a restaurant. But we need to do both."

1."Patients have so many doors and windows into their data but they don’t lead to the same house! It’s confusing for patients." Alexis Villa , 2022

This is such a simple metaphor, but it has so many layers! The data is there. Somewhere. Maybe they can access it, but their GP can't (or will have to wait a week to get it in the mail). Maybe one hospital has an EMR but it doesn't connect to the other hospital. And worse, maybe the GP never gets any of it. We all know we need to have the data lead to the same house. And now that so many people understanding this issue and its importance, it finally feels like we are starting to make headway! (Full disclosure: I am ever the optimist in work and life and that's what keeps me so excited about being in healthcare!).

What's your favourite healthcare analogy?