I hereby hang out my shingle: e-Patient Dave for hire. Call me.
I’m launching my consulting business in the new world of healthcare, especially patient engagement, personal health records, data quality, and related policy. What I do:
- Compelling, motivating speaker and writer
- Voice of the engaged patient
- Policy advisor on
- how technology can and should affect healthcare transformation
- disruptive innovation: how it creates progress, how to manage it, how to survive its risks
- personal health records
Healthcare is changing, especially in America. As the nation wrestles with the complex political and financial issues that paralyze talk of reform, a separate front advances steadily: patients are becoming engaged in their care.
Gone are the days when patients were passive recipients of care dispensed by healthcare providers in a one-sided “doctor knows best – and patients know nothing” model. Today engaged patients participate in their care, in an empowering partnership with nurses, physicians, staff and organizations who understand the new model.
A new, collaborative partnership.
It’s not that “doctor knows best” has turned into “patients know best.” To the contrary – this new relationship is a collaborative partnership, in which both parties feel more fulfilled.
But adjusting to this can be a challenge. How can providers, policymakers, care system creators and patients learn to dance to this new music? And health IT will play a vital role, especially patients’ ownership of their own data in personal health records (PHRs). All these are areas where I intend to “make a living by making a difference.”
Browse the site. Bring friends.
“e-Patient Dave” deBronkart is a high-tech marketing executive who has studied technological change (and how people deal with it) for years. In 2007 he succeeded in beating a near-fatal cancer, and has gone on to apply his analysis and communication skills to the new world of participatory medicine.
In 2009 Dave and his primary physician, Dr. Danny Sands, MD MPH, were elected founding co-chairs of the Society for Participatory Medicine.
A passionate spokesman for the cause, he lives, writes, and works in Nashua NH, near Boston’s Route 128 high tech corridor, where he is Director of Marketing Analytics for TimeTrade Appointment Systems. For more detail on Dave’s story, see the About page.
Congratulations Dave!
There is so much to do and you’re going to help get it done right.
You are a “must listen” for me and this new site is another opportunity to learn – thanks.
Dave –
Big high five for taking patient advocacy to the professional realm…we have Chief Marketing Officers, Chief Executive Officers, nice to see your latest role develop as a Chief Patient Advocate moving to connect patient and provider!
All the best –
Jen
Thanks, Jen, but I certainly wouldn’t consider myself *the* Chief Patient Advocate. Many people were paving that highway before I even knew about cars, and today people like Trisha Torrey and you are bright stars.
But as long as we’re allow to have multiple chiefs, sure, I’ll be one. :–) Thanks!
Dave:
A big bravo for your courage to both step out, and step up in service to this calling for which you are so well qualified!
Being the change you want top see in the world sounds cute, has situation specific and time-limited appeal, yet living it seems be more of the ‘artist’s way’ and too often peppered with continuing economic and sustainability challenges.
Following this ‘intuitive know-er’ (whether a calling, or series of life circumstances) is too often not the road ‘less traveled’, but an option not even in play. The broader cultural incentives just don’t favor this type of blind trust.
So hopefully Dave, you can align your transformational energies with what I judge to be a ‘target rich’ health care finance and delivery space!
I’m in too!
Dear Dave,
This is great news. You are taking Patient Advocacy to the next level.
As soon as I have to opportunity to bring you to Europe, I promise I will. There is a need for Patient Advocacy transformation in Europe.
I hope to see you in Paris at the first European Health 2.0 conference: http://www.health2con.com/paris2010/
I completely agree with your concept of a collaborative partnership between docs and patients. It seems to me that if one doesn’t put in effort, the ultimate goal, optimal health is out of the question. its interesting for me (a patient) to see how different doctors will approach things like giving prescriptions: sometimes it can seem like they are commanding from on high, which is a real turn off. right now i see someone who is much more open about telling me how medication works, and when i understand what i am actually DOING, its a lot easier, and i’m more willing, to adhere to a regimen.
I’m helping to put together a site that is a platform for discussion about health and culture, and one of the first issues we examined was the idea of the relationship between doctor and patient. people had a lot to say about the short video we made about it- thought you might like to take a look. http://speakhealth.org/a-doctors-dilemma/
honestly- really appreciate the thoughts you publish at your blog, keep up the good work!
~caroline