By Robin Strongin. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) proved this week that government communications don’t have to be grey and dull….except from the standpoint that zombies tend to be grey and dull, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

This week, the CDC posted on its Public Health Matters blog a piece entitled “Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse”.  The post emphasized the need for citizens to create an emergency plan in the event of sudden attacks by the walking dead.  These tips included the planning of evacuation routes, making a list of emergency contacts and having supplies like water, non-perishable food items and medications ready to go at a moment’s notice.  As the CDC pointed out on its blog, “When zombies are hungry….you need to get out of town fast!”

Give the creative minds at the CDC a great deal of credit.  By tying valuable information to a fun piece of pop culture, the agency went from its usual 3,000 page views per week to having tens of thousands of web users trying to learn more about zombie apocalypse preparation.  As a result, more Americans now have a better understanding of how to handle real emergencies.

I can’t help thinking that public health needs more of this out-of-the-box thinking.  It wouldn’t hurt to bring some novel ideas to some of our more underutilized programs, like the “Welcome to Medicare” wellness exam, which has been in existence since 2005.  Even though the Medicare population is over 45 million beneficiaries strong, only about 100,000 seniors each year are taking advantage of these physicals for which the federal government is picking up the tab.

We also learned this week from the Reuters health summit that, to quote the lead in the Reuters news story, “Americans are starting to see the doctor again, but more often for cosmetic procedures, such as Botox treatments, rather than cancer screening and other lifesaving preventive care.”

We already knew from previous studies by the RAND Corporation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and others that millions of individuals aren’t getting the disease screenings and preventive exams they should.  Perhaps what the CDC has shown us is that these figures can be improved if we make preventive health fun, hip and attention-getting.

I’m thinking there has to be some way to tie blood tests into vampires and the Twilight films, but that may need some work.

By Robin Strongin. When I think of the actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, my mind immediately goes to Velma Kelly, the role she played in the movie Chicago.  Brash, self-assured, confident in using both her sensuality and a tommy gun as effective weapons, Zeta-Jones owned that character and was the silver screen epitome of a powerful woman.

But now we’ve learned that the woman playing Velma Kelly and other memorable roles is, in actuality, a very vulnerable individual facing significant challenges in her life.  Her publicist announced on Wednesday that Zeta-Jones had checked herself into a mental health clinic for treatment of a bipolar disorder.

Juxtaposed this week with the actress’s revelation was a study released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pointing out that suicide rates among working-age Americans rise and fall based on economic cycles, the implicit warning being that incidences of suicide can be expected to increase during the difficult economic times currently affecting so many households.

With this disturbing report in mind, there is no question that Zeta-Jones performed a valuable public service this week.  She reminded us that there is and should be no stigma attached to admitting the need for behavioral health counseling.  By being frank about her illness and her need for professional health care, it can be hoped that she has made it a little bit easier for others to do the same.

The fact that she is currently involved in two movie productions also underscores the fact that a behavioral condition does not preclude a productive life and career.

In such stressful times, mental health support is an area that requires diligent monitoring by both policymakers and business leaders.  Good news was found in a survey released last fall by the Kaiser Family Foundation.  Kaiser found that, in response to implementation of Mental Health Parity Act passed by Congress in 2008, one-third of employers with 50 or more workers made changes to their mental health benefit packages.  Of those, 66 percent eliminated limits on coverage and only five percent dropped coverage altogether.

Not diminishing the financial difficulty of maintaining quality health coverage, but employers have a great deal at stake in maintaining behavioral health benefits.  Mental health has been cited as one of the leading causes of absenteeism and lost productivity in the workplace, making the case that behavioral health support is a sound investment.

And, as Catherine Zeta-Jones demonstrated this week, when that support is available, individuals in need of assistance shouldn’t hesitate to utilize it.

By Robin Strongin. It wasn’t all that long ago that I discovered a real treasure in Washington DC–the Kreeger Museum.  It is a magnificent, yet intimate museum housing a stunning art collection.  It offers concerts, lectures, community events and so much more. In December, we held the Disruptive Women in Health Care annual reception at the museum – a program that highlighted the power of art and music and its relationship to health and wellness.

I am writing to let everyone know about an upcoming Kreeger event—it is a program to benefit Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers and families.  We’ll hear about it at the event Tuesday, March 15 at the jewel of a museum, over champagne cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. See below for more details.

Hope to see you there. 

About Conversations at The Kreeger Museum

The Kreeger Museum is proud to announce the launch of an exciting new art and music program for individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and other dementia related illnesses and their caregivers. (more…)

By Robin Strongin. I am pleased to present Disruptive Women’s latest ebook, Innovation Nation: Recognizing the Benefits of Innovation in Health Care.

Innovation in health care, broadly defined, is essential to the future. Innovation was a prominent theme in President Obama’s State of the Union address last month and funding for innovations is present in his budget released this week. But, are we, as a nation doing enough when it comes to innovation in health care?

To help us explore the multi-faceted world of innovation we invited outside experts as well as some of our own Disruptive Women to share their insights and expertise on this critical topic. I hope you find this ebook both timely and informative. The posts originally ran December 2010. As an added benefit we have included an expanded resource section, so you can dive even further into this topic.

Please feel free to share, cross post and distribute with others who would find this of interest. As always, we welcome your feedback and comments. All the posts remain on the blog and it’s not too late to comment on specific posts. Enjoy!

By Robin Strongin. I am thrilled to annouce our four newest Disruptive Women bloggers. Through their work these women demonstrate an unrelenting passion to improve the health and well being of everyone – men, women, and children. Take a few minutes to look over their bios. Also, stay tuned for future posts from them, which I can promise won’t disappoint.

	Bernadette Melnyk, PhD, RN, CPNP/NNP, FAAN, FNAP is currently Dean and Distinguished Foundation Professor in Nursing at Arizona State University College of Nursing and Health Innovation. She is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in evidence-based practice as well as in child and adolescent mental health.
	Constance Garner, PhD, EdS, MSN, RN is the Policy Director in the Government Strategies Practice Group, and Executive Director for Advance CLASS, Inc at Foley Hoag, LLP. Her areas of expertise include health care, disability, long term care, and education.
	Dr. Margaret “Muggy Do” Dickinson, Ph.D. (Dr. Do) co-founded the Art and Drama Institute, Inc. (ADTI) and serves as the company’s CEO, president, and program director. Dr. Do and the Art and Drama Therapy Institute’s Inspirational Choir and Moroccan Ensemble participated in the Disruptive Women’s December Holiday event.
	Dr. Sirkku M. Sky Hiltunen, Ph.D., Ed.D., RDT-BCT, ATR-BC, BCPC, MT, BCPC, LPC (Dr. Sky) co-founded the Art and Drama Institute, Inc. (ADTI) and as executive vice president, and executive arts director.

By Robin Strongin. Even Disruptive Women can be quiet. But not for long. I have a lot to say about the horrific events that unfolded in Tucson this weekend.  And it goes without saying that my thoughts and prayers are with all the shooting victims and their families. 

We need to take a hard look at the lessons learned from such senseless violence.  Tragically, these are not new lessons:

• When are we going to learn that tougher gun laws are absolutely essential
• When are we going to learn that we must do more to address mental illness
• When are we going to realize that our sophisticated health care system, with its highly trained personnel (first responders, surgeons, nurses, interns who learn first aid), and life saving technology, can be the difference between life and death

Some say this is a wake up call. Is anyone listening?

By Robin Strongin. From all of the Disruptive Women…

By Robin Strongin.  Throughout the entire congressional debate on health reform, this is a question that kept popping into my mind, probably because innovation was such a non-factor in the debate itself.  In hours of discourse over how to expand coverage to millions of uninsured Americans while cutting health care costs, there was rarely a mention of the role innovation must play in shaping our remodeled 21^st century health care system.

And in those infrequent circumstances when the topic did arise, it was often in a critical way.  More than a few policymakers cited innovation as a primary cost driver, making health care too expensive for too many.  That criticism isn’t limited, by the way, to politicians and pundits. 

So, isn’t it time that we have this discussion?  Is innovation an aspect of American health care that should be downgraded or minimized in order to increase affordability?  Or is it the linchpin of our efforts to achieve the goals – cost containment, quality enhancement, sustainability – of health reform? 

In setting the framework for this discussion, there are a couple of key points that need to be made.  First, innovation needs to be given a broad definition.  It’s not just the development or enhancement of pharmaceutical products and medical devices, though continued innovation in the life sciences is vital.  Looking at the challenges facing our health care system, we also have to think of innovation in terms of medical practice protocols, how care is delivered and even the way in which health insurance plans are designed and health care is paid.

We need to encourage coverage, treatment and technological solutions that result in not just more people having health insurance, but in achieving better outcomes and a healthier population. 

We can create effective structures like health insurance exchanges and delivery reform demonstration projects, but that won’t change the fact that the rising incidence of chronic disease is pushing our national health care bill skyward.  New innovations, in both treatments and technologies, as well as patient engagement, are vital in combating the chronic disease crisis. 

Case in Point:  A recent Alzheimer’s Association report projects that developing new treatments that would slow the progression of Alzheimer’s by five years would save Medicare and Medicaid $100 Billion per year by 2030. 

So, let’s begin this discussion on the role innovation plays in our health care future.  There is a legitimate point to be made that innovation becomes counterproductive if it elevates costs to the point of making care inaccessible.  At the same time, though, I think of the 2009 article in which Harvard Business School professor and noted health policy analyst Clayton Christensen wrote entitled, “How to Revive Health Care Innovation,” in which he noted that it was the disruptive innovation of angioplasty that made cardiac care more affordable and more convenient than open-heart surgeries and that, in turn, lipid-lowering pharmaceuticals were disruptive to angioplasty in the same way.

The question then, is how do we reproduce that model of progress for all of health care, and should that be one of our national priorities?  A number of Disruptive Women bloggers and few guest experts have offered their insights in the posts that will follow over the next several weeks.  We look forward to your thoughts and comments as well.

* This post is part of the Disruptive Women series on innovation.

By Robin Strongin. Every now and then we come across something we just have to share.  Click here and enjoy!

By Robin Strongin. What happens when two Disruptive Women get together over coffee? Check out this almost-as-if-you-were-sitting-there-with-them article by Halle Tecco to get a glimpse into her recent conversation with Alexandra Drane.

One of the many topics they discussed was this concept called “The Unmentionables.” The idea is based on the fact that over the past decade during which Drane’s company Eliza Corp has interacted with people about their health and health care, certain themes have emerged. It’s not that people don’t want to keep up with their preventive screenings, or maintain a sensible diet and exercise routine – it’s just that life gets in the way. That includes things like consuming debt, a bad marriage, a stressful job, and even a bad sex life.

Of course, the literature review supports the fact that many of these issues have a measurable – and negative – impact on health. Those things which have a significant impact on health yet are rarely addressed in the health care industry are what Eliza is calling “The Unmentionables.”

They recently did a survey of over 1,000 Americans on the issues that keep them from being their best, and shared the findings. It’s sobering.

For example,  94% of people reported dealing with at least one of the following issues: money concerns, social conflicts, relationship conflicts, caregiving, job stress, depression, trouble sleeping, bad sex life, getting enough exercise or diet issues. And of the named issues, the greatest importance was placed on job stress, caregiver stress and money concerns, followed closely by unhealthy sex life and relationship issues. Not surprisingly, as the number of issues a person is dealing with increases, their self-reported general health ranking went down.

Survey analysis also found that while these issues are real pain points for people, they aren’t feeling much support in these areas from the healthcare industry. Eliza has dubbed this gap the Ostrich Index. It shows that while diet and exercise issues are generally felt to be well-addressed by the health care community (pause for a quick collective pat on the back), those other factors like job stress, caregiver stress, relationship issues, an unhealthy sex life and money concerns are either never or poorly addressed.

As Eliza continues to refine the research – in conjunction with industry expert Wendy Lynch, PhD – they’ll also study the impact of these issues on workplace productivity, or specific health issues.

Stay tuned!

By Robin Strongin. During August and September we ran a series of posts on patient advocacy. These posts have been compiled into what is a very informative and engaging ebook. A big thank you to all the bloggers whose posts are included in this ebook; we greatly appreciate them sharing their perspectives and personal stories on patient advocacy.

Please feel free to share and distribute this ebook to others who would find this of interest. As always, we welcome your feedback and comments. All the posts in the ebook remain on the blog and it’s not too late to comment on specific posts.

Download a free copy of the ebook.

By Robin Strongin.  As a member of the National Press Club, I was invited to a private tour of the amazing exhibit:  Elvis 1956.  The exhibit featured remarkable photographs by Alfred Wertheimer who traveled with Elvis during his breakout year (Elvis was only 21!).   

Amy Henderson, an incredible cultural historian with the Smithsonian led our tour.  Her knowledge of The King was matched by her knowledge of the spectacular building in which the exhibit was housed, the Old U.S. Patent Office, now a national landmark and home to the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery.  Fun Fact: In the 1850s, Clara Barton worked in the building as a clerk to the Patent Commissioner, the first woman federal employee to receive equal pay.  

At one point during our tour, Amy explained to our group that after the White House and other buildings were burned by the British in the 1800s, three buildings were to be rebuilt first: the White House, the Treasury Building and the Patent Office.  She wondered why the Patent Office.   Then she explained:  It was a time in our history when there was an enormous sense of Manifest Destiny, a belief in our greatness.  Her words: “Our inventiveness was a barometer of our greatness….thus, the need for an enormous patent building.”  Even before the inventions were born, there was a recognition by our forefathers that innovation matters. 

Established in 1995, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Museum strives to educate the public about the patent and trademark systems, and the important role intellectual property protection plays in our nation’s social and economic health.

From the Patent Museum’s website:  Today, America’s inventive spirit is one of our most treasured and envied assets. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office works to record, share, and preserve this inventive spirit.

Just as Elvis disrupted the music world with his innovations and genius, the Patent and Trademark Office is there for those innovators waiting to disrupt the health care status quo. And just as our forefathers saw the vast potential of innovation, so too our Disruptive Women.  We will be blogging about innovations in health care; innovation broadly defined.

We will be launching this series shortly and compiling the posts into an eBook.  In the meantime, I am interested in hearing what you think are the most important innovations in health care.

Thank You. Thank You. Thank You Very Much.

By Robin Strongin.  It is my pleasure to annouce our four newest Disruptive Women bloggers. This group of amazing women all work in innovative ways to improve the lives of others; they are committed to improving the health and well being of everyone – men, women, and children.

Take a moment to look over their bios and of course stay tuned for their future posts.

	Alexandra Drane has devoted her career to inspiring people to lead healthier, happier and more engaged lives through the use of innovative technology. She is currently president and co-founder of Eliza Corporation and is also a co-founder of Engage with Grace, a not-for-profit movement launched in October 2008 aimed at helping people understand, communicate and have honored their end-of-life wishes.
	Gwen Mayes has devoted her 30-year career to the responsible development of health policies that balance the interests of patients, regulators and health providers. While working in women’s health, Mayes launched Writing With Insight®.
	Halle Tecco is a San Francisco resident and social entrepreneur passionate about technology, service and healthy living. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Yoga Bear, a non-profit providing more opportunities of health and wellness to cancer patients through the practice of yoga.
	Nancy LeaMond is the Executive Vice President of Social Impact for AARP where she leads strategic planning, government relations and advocacy, education and programs for AARP’s health care, financial security, livable communities and global aging agenda. She led AARP’s Health Action Now campaign as well as Divided We Fail.