What do Patients want from Healthcare 2.0?

Stepping into the world of healthcare 2.0 made me really start mapping the few basic things which Patients of today really want but more often do not dare to openly say or demand.

Truth is however, that in order for any type of change to happen, first the different part of the current healthcare ecosystem have to adapt:

Patients – Physicians – Caregivers – Hospitals/Clinics – Governments – Friends – Families – Colleagues – R&D – Biopharma – Pharmacies – Academics – Technology enablers…..

The list of interdependencies is so complex, that we should admit a Change is not easy. It requires a change in all the parts of the ecosystem for it to be successful, but foremostly sustainable in the future.

So where do we start?

Open Ears, Open Mind

Most of all, the one simple thing a patient truly wants is someone who is open to listen.

And listening is a skill which takes a lot of time and exercises to develop, both on an individual and on ecosystem level. 

Listening means being open to anything which can come your way as a member of that ecosystem:

Desire to stop already expressing your predefined answers and start comprehending what the person has to say, be that simply to ask, criticize, demand, contribute, help, ask for advice, express support and gratitude, find flaws, evangelize, share about personal struggles.

Listening is the foundation of the Healthcare 2.0 of today. Appreciating one’s ability to shut up and listen is most of the time the basis of any real relationship. (Giving an educated answer based on an intelligent listening is always more appreciated.)

Trust

Mentioning the word relationship in the previous paragraph should already give the signal. If you do not trust someone, you would not share. And if you do not share, there is no way to build trust. The trust of patients is a matter of respect between of participants in the Healthcare 2.0 ecosystem. And for it to be effective it takes more than just two to tango in our connected system, it also takes time, efforts and ability to be able to accept, adapt and make difficult choices.

If we want to grow the trusted relationship with Patients, we should be immensely grateful and acknowledge that they already made the first step in being open to share. Transparency, clarity and openness are and will always be just few of the primes behind any relationship: in the online, and offline world. They are based on the mutual respect of the participants and the inherit believe that we all are responsible for enabling change.

Courage

For a real change, one needs courage. Courage to accept things out of their control, and courage to make all necessary to change what is in their control. The big advantage of the Healthcare 2.0 reality is that we are more connected than ever. We can and should realize the great amount of responsibility, power and opportunities which this form of control gives us. Benefiting from the connectivity means exactly having the Courage to do what sometimes 1) is difficult 2) seems nearly impossible 3) scares you 4) gives no guarantees 5) can be a complete failure 6) can be a brand new beginning.

That’s why the participants in this live ecosystem need to understand that the opportunity lies within our ability to communicate better and express openly, with no restraint what we see as opportunities, challenges, threads, weaknesses – only then change can be real and sustainable.

Being a patient with courage to share their own experience and struggle is probably the biggest form of courage one can display. And we have the responsibility to address that and work together to find solutions for the need and wants of patients.

Failure

Everyone has failed at least once. But the success stories are not defined by putting an end to the journey. They are defined by the ability to speak about it openly, because one can only learn from a failure and transform it into a success. Companies, governments and academics fail. Individuals fail.

Accepting, learning, being open to change and determined to try again, however, is the key to real sustainable success. One in which all members of the Healthcare 2.0 take responsibilities for their role and play their part, in which they do not commit to success from the first shot. But in which they should commit to try again until they find a real solution to make impact in the patients’ lives.

The same way patients do not stop trying to believe, try, seek and demand for solutions.

Understanding the Complexity

As already mentioned we live in times where everything is so highly interdependent that sustainable change is a challenging mission. But as every complex system, also the one of Healthcare 2.0 can be broken down into its building blocks and connecting links.

Maybe we cannot have the same impact and visible results in all parts of the ecosystem at the same time, but we can map out our way to address that.

One step at a time.

In the end, once an impulse is given, and if connected properly, the network effect would take care of the rest.

Co-creating

A true innovation is successful only if accepted by all participants in the ecosystem. And that means simply working together even if that is not easy.

Being open to multichannel, multi-cultural multi-stakeholder communications, leading to real solutions: co-designed, co-argumented, co-experimented, co-validated, co-implemented, co-evangelized.

Only if one asks a question, one can expect an answer. It is responsibilities for each and every member of the Healthcare 2.0 to ask a question to the rest of the participants if the goal is a Real Impact through Real Change. Leading us always down to the ultimate big picture end goal: bringing a sustainable positive impact on patient lives.

Are You asking the right questions?

! // The views and opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the author.