The Innovation Tool That Could Actually Help Save Lives

CubieDx? is an innovative medical (clinical reasoning) solution that was co-developed by two people: one expert in Innovation Cognition and another expert in Diagnostic Error Reduction. It’s essentially a “thinking tool” that helps to trigger, guide, and expand a physician’s Critical Thinking when they’re engaged in various diagnostic processes (e.g. taking patient’s history, reviewing medical records or test results, examining the patient, etc.). But CubieDx can also be used by other Allied Health Professionals, such as nurses, dentists, radiologists, physical therapists, clinical social workers, and many more.

The idea behind CubieDx is to reduce the likelihood of a diagnostic error that would otherwise arise because of insufficient clinical reasoning on the part of a physician. Doctors are extraordinary professionals, and this solution in no way intends to “place the blame” on them for diagnostic errors; indeed, most such errors are due to a wide range of complex system issues, and not simply the fault of one type of individual in the overall scenario. But doctors are, after all, human. All human beings are susceptible to thinking errors. And such errors can potentially lead to patient harm, or even death.

According to NAM (National Academy of Medicine), conservatively 40,000 – 80,000 people die each year in the US alone due to a diagnostic error, or between 10% – 20% of all diagnoses. Such errors represent the #1 most costly category of medical malpractice in the country, eventually costing well over $100 Billion per year, and of course lead to terrible suffering on the part of both patients and their loved ones.

The initial design of the CubieDx Solution – a prototype Model-of-Logic and a set of Instructions-for-Use – is being distributed at an upcoming medical conference (Diagnostic Error in Medicine), next week in Washington DC. It will be provided to all 500 attendees of this conference, made up mostly of physicians, healthcare researchers, hospital administrators, patient advocates, and medical school professors.

CubieDx was an adaptation from its original “parent,” a model-of-logic called Cubie?, which has been used for years in Creative Problem Solving, Brainstorming, New Product Development, Business Strategy, and many more applications of Innovation. Cubie helps to improve the way we think by intervening in our “default” thought processes – those cognitive sequences that tend to proceed linearly, and not “outside the box.” Cubie asks questions that compel us to use our imagination, rather than allowing us to simply move to the next steps without first considering new resources, new methods, or new contexts and information that we hadn’t otherwise considered. These default thought process are driven largely by cognitive biases, and every human being in the world – even the best trained, most highly skilled, and most deeply experienced doctor – is subject to the effects of one or more cognitive biases (there are more than 100 different types).

The original Cubie? is a cube-shaped model of logic, consisting of 6 “dimensions of inquiry” that are designed to help individuals to “think outside the box” in each of those unique dimensions. Cubie serves as a trigger (visual, verbal, or electronic reminder) for individuals to consciously consider each of these dimensions, which happen to correspond to the “six universal questions”:

·        MEANING (The Contextual Dimension) – Inspires asking not just what, but exploring for what else?

·        TIME (The Temporal Dimension) – Inspires asking not just when, but exploring for when else?

·        SPACE (The Logistical Dimension) – Inspires asking not just where, but exploring for where else?

·        PERSON (The Individual Dimension) – Inspires asking not just who, but exploring for who else?

·        METHOD (The Procedural Dimension) – Inspires asking not just how, but exploring for how else?

·        PURPOSE (The Motivational Dimension) – Inspires asking not just why, but exploring for why else?

Using any version of Cubie at first involves knowing when to actually pick up and look at the physical cube to see each of its faces. Each face opens up new pathways for asking lots of questions in that dimension, exploring deeper and deeper, wider and wider -- challenging conventional wisdom and going far beyond what might seem like the "obvious" answer that you already have. After repeated use, however, it becomes easy to simply retain Cubie as a mental model, and routinely be able to recall each of the dimensions throughout the course of an interactive, probing-questions session (e.g. called “Explorative Inquiry”).  

Use of these models and methods can, in fact, be developed into a cognitive habit, and that is the idea behind TheInnovationHabit.com, a unique learning strategy created with the insights of Stanford University’s BJ Fogg, PhD and his extremely effective Tiny Habits? method. I’ve already been contracted by a major global insurance company to implement this in their quest to develop a culture of innovation.

CubieDx is just one example of how the basic Cubie model can be adapted for a particular usage scenario. The possibilities for doing so in other domains, such as business strategy, risk management, conflict resolution, product design, sales & marketing, or myriad others are virtually limitless. 

I invite anyone who’s interested in this to explore it further. You can download for free the printable CubieDx template and Instructions. After the upcoming conference, however, the design is likely to evolve a bit, so check back again in the future for the latest version of each. Additional information, including a video that walks you step-by-step in printing/assembling your Cubie model can be found at CubieDx.org.

If this sort of innovative solution is of interest to you, please support our efforts by getting the word out to others and engaging with this initial material:

1. If you liked this article, then please do LIKE it! :)
2. Add a question or comment below. Let me know why you like this (or why you don't). Make suggestions for other Cubie applications.
3. Forward this article to a friend or colleague who you believe will be interested in it. Do you know a doctor, a nurse, an EMT, or anyone in healthcare? Or, do you know folks who just want to become more innovative thinkers (and doers)?
4. Download and assemble the CubieDx, and give it a try. If you prefer the generic/basic version of Cubie, find it here: Cubie Print Sheet.
5. Contact me via email ([email protected]) and ask how you can apply Cubie to your own work or life. Got a specific problem to solve? That's why Cubie is here!
6. Schedule a 45-minute Lunch 'n Learn session that I'll gladly deliver live to your team, onsite (if you're within 250 miles of New York City) or via Zoom video.

Disclaimer: Because it’s still in its development stages, it’s important to note that CubieDx is not yet formally endorsed for use in practicing medicine by any medical or healthcare organization, including the one that produces the DEM conference. Such endorsement would require extensive testing and validation, which will need to occur in the near future. But CubieDx has been designed to be highly consistent with the most widely-practiced and fully-validated techniques already in use.