The business of patient engagement: an office in a box

A year ago I posted about the business of patient engagement – some reflections on what it’s like to be creating some kind of business that has no precedent. Yeah, that’s innovation – not new technology, but definitely innovating a business model. It’s had to be agile: set out in a general direction, and follow the opportunities. Somebody told me “Evangelism always requires taking it to the field,” and boy were they right: the Past Events section of my schedule shows over 150 events since 1/1/2010.

That’s a lot of travel, a lot of unproductive time to/from/in airports, and a lot of time checking into and out of hotels. Tons of opportunity for things to get misplaced, and tons of opportunity for expected services not to be there when I arrive. All that means more unproductive time, not to mention replacement costs. That stuff can kill a startup.

I’ve addressed this, with the help of my gadget-happy clever wife, by developing an “office in a box” briefcase, with a place for everything and everything in its place. Check it out.

Thanks, Ted Eytan –

The idea for this post comes from Ted Eytan MD, of the Permanente Foundation. Way back in 2008, when I was just learning to blog, his generous sharing of his methods made me realize that I had access to far more “cool tools” than I realized. In particular, his series “My own CIO” taught about all the clever tools he’d found, which enabled him to act like a company though he was one guy with a ton of stuff.

Ted hasn’t posted in that series for almost three years, but his gift keeps on giving. Ted, you inspire, and you inspire me to share.

In keeping with that:

“My own purchasing agent”

Here are the products shown in the video –

• Briefcase: Higher Ground “Laptrap” (different sizes & colors available)
• Novatel MiFi 4G wireless access point.
  • Caution: This model has a display so you can tell when the battery’s running low. The default 4G MiFi sold by Verizon this summer does not have a display, which is insane! What were they thinking?? This device exists to be a portable wifi life-saver, but it doesn’t warn you when it’s running low, so you can recharge it??
• Satechi Smart Pointer wireless slide clicker
• Olympus WS-400S digital voice recorder
  • TranscriptionsService is the transcription service I use. For normal stuff they charge about $1/minute, so a 15 minute YouTube transcribes for $15! Howard Luks MD found ’em – on Facebook.
• “Outlets To Go” small power strip – 3 outlets plus one USB. (Ted Eytan calls his “my airport friend-maker.”)
• GigaWare USB hub
• IcyHot roll-on anti-inflammatory pain relief. I started using it for tennis elbow (too much airport luggage hauling) and continued when I got plantar fasciitis. Also available in patches large and small.
• FlipCam