The Sickcare Enovation Club

Enology/Oenology is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Enology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word oinos "wine" and the suffix –logia the "study of".

Sickcare entrepreneurship is the pursuit of sickcare opportunity under volatile, uncertain, complex and and ambiguous conditions (VUCA) with the goal of creating stakeholder defined value through the deployment of innovation using a VAST business model.

In many ways, the two are the same:

1. They require as much art as science
2. They are subject to uncontrollable environments
3. The results are better in some places in the world than others
4. The value is defined by the tastes of the end users
5. There are many steps in the value chain that delivers the ultimate result
6. Unless you have a trained palate, or, in the case of innovation, a discerning eye, it is hard to tell the difference between one and the other
7. Sales and marketing are crucial to product success
8. Both have a cult following
9. After a while, sickcare products and wine turn bad and shouldn't be consumed
10. There are a vast array of complemetary products and services to support the industries.
11. Many bottles and "innovations" don't pass the smell test
12. Many producers have done something else where they made a lot of money and thought having a winery/sickcare stratup would be a cool idea.

In many ways, so called "sickcare innovations" are old wine in a new bottle. What's even worse are new ideas in an old bottle.

Look for the gift I sent you from the Sickcare Enovation Club. After an enjoyable day on the trout streams, start the fire, relax and enjoy.

Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA is the President and CEO of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs