By Trisha Torrey. Once upon a time when we experienced strange symptoms, we went to the doctor, the doctor listened and asked questions, we got the medical tests we needed, were correctly diagnosed and successfully treated, and we could afford all that great care.

I say “once upon a time” because today, that scenario is mostly a fantasy.  And sadly, today’s story doesn’t always end with happily-ever-after – for anyone.

Providers went to medical school to learn to heal and help. Instead they carry excessive patient loads amidst decreasing reimbursements, spend a small fortune on malpractice insurance, and reject some patients who don’t have the right kinds of payers, or who take up too much time with difficult diseases or comorbidities. They are frustrated with their inability to deliver the care they prefer to deliver, but they must protect themselves or they will lose their practices.

Since the passage of reform, insurers have been forced to realign their requirements and services so they can continue to suck money from employers, patients, providers and the government. They spend billions on lobbying efforts, and reduce their provider reimbursements – at the expense of patients who are continually denied the care they need. A million families go bankrupt each year because they erroneously believed their insurance would cover their care when they needed it.

Those patients, accustomed to provider paternalism and decent payment coverage, find themselves blindsided to this devolved system that no longer provides the care they need and deserve. They get sicker. They die from medical errors. They lose their homes. No one has ever even suggested, much less taught them how to stick up for themselves or take responsibility for their own medical decision-making.

Patient Advocates to the rescue! Patient advocates are the only participants in the healthcare equation who may deliver improved outcomes for everyone  – providers, payers and most of all –patients.

When an advocate accompanies a patient to an appointment, less time may be required because the advocate will facilitate communication and the process. In a hospital setting, a bedside advocate will double check drug dosing and insist on hand washing, keeping the patient safe and providers out of hot water.

Payers benefit from the efforts of patient advocates, too.  Advocates help patients understand when a generic drug makes sense, or question a diagnosis before the wrong treatment is dispensed or performed, and therefore must be reimbursed. A billing or claims advocate knows how to file paperwork correctly, or reduce a hospital bill, saving time and expense for payers and patients.

Of course, advocates provide the biggest benefits to us patients. We can rely on our advocates to be focused on our improved outcomes and well-being.  Just like – once upon a time — we relied on our doctors.

Talk about disruptive! Rare is the case that an extra person in any relationship can improve the outcomes for everyone involved. 

But this is no fantasy. Patient advocates are skilled and ready to help.  Including an advocate in the medical care delivery equation can help us refocus on the possibilities of the good care that providers wish to deliver, payers are willing to pay for, and patients deserve to get.

Did you miss Disruptive Women bloggers Indu Subaiya, Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, Trisha Torrey, and Regina Holliday this week on the Real Women on Health! Radio series? Or did you hear them, but want to listen again? If so, you can listen to the podcasts now available.

Tomorrow, Thursday, August 5^th from 12:00pm – 1:00pm EST Disruptive Women Trisha Torrey, Guide to Patent Empowerment, About.com  (http://patients.about.com/) and quoted in this month’s “O” Magazine, and Regina Holliday http://reginaholliday.blogspot.com/) , medical advocate and muralist, painter of “73 cents,” a depiction of challenges she faced to acquire her late husband’s medical records as he struggled with cancer (“73 Cents” also cover of British Medical Journal 9/09) will be featured guests on the Disruptive Women in Health Care and Real Women on Health Radio! blog talk radio show. The topic for the show is “Patient Empowerment: How to be Your Own Best Advocate.” 

There are two ways to listen and/or participate in what will be fascinating conversations — listen online at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/realwomenonhealth or call toll-free (646) 929-2625.

And speaking of Patient Advocacy and Empowerment, Disruptive Women in Health Care is working on its next e-book which is all about Patient Advocacy.  Start looking for posts later this month.

If you have stories or tips to share on this subject, we invite you to send them in.

With Disruptive Women in Health Care Real Women on Health! Reveals Power of Patient Advocacy

Real Women on Health!, the multi-channel platform and online community for women, reveals the power of patient advocacy with a leading healthcare blog community, Disruptive Women in Health Care. The two online media forces have invited key influencers from the Health 2.0 movement for a three-part call-in, live on-line radio series starting in August.

The Real Women on Health! online radio show will allow experts to share their ideas on how to use technology to promote collaboration between patients, their caregivers and medical professionals. The shows will feature Indu Subaiya, co-founder of Health 2.0, Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, health economist, principal of THINK-Health, Trisha Torrey, Guide to Patent Empowerment, Regina Holliday, medical advocate and muralist and several others. “We’re excited to bring together these women innovators to share their visions of Health 2.0 and what it means for healthcare’s stakeholders – which should be every one of us,” says Robin Strongin, founder of Disruptive Women in Health Care and President and CEO, Amplify Public Affairs.

Innovative companies and entrepreneurs in Health 2.0 are developing the most effective tools and approaches to healthcare in this new century, and are looking for new ideas from all sources. “We know how important collaboration and communications are to transforming healthcare today”, says Kelley Connors, founder of Real Women on Health! and President of KC Healthcare Communications LLC. “Listeners who call in will have the chance ask questions, and share their ideas as well – it’s all about sparking a dialogue on patient advocacy,” she added.

Topics and guests include:

Tuesday, August 3rd 12:00pm – 1:00pm EST: Topic: How ‘Health 2.0’ is Evolving and Why You Should Care.” Featured guests, Indu Subaiya, co-founder of Health 2.0, a leading showcase where healthcare transformers share news and ideas around technology and patient communities, and Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, health economist, principal of THINK-Health and founder of one of the most influential blogs in healthcare, Health Populi.

Thursday, August 5th 12:00pm – 1:00pm EST: Topic: “Patient Empowerment: How to be Your Own Best Advocate.” Featured guests, Trisha Torrey, Guide to Patent Empowerment, About.com and quoted in this month’s “O” Magazine, and Regina Holliday, medical advocate and muralist, painter of “73 cents,” a depiction of challenges she faced to acquire her late husband’s medical records as he struggled with cancer (“73 Cents” also cover of British Medical Journal 9/09).

Later in the month, the show will also explore how healthcare professionals are using social media to enhance communications with patients.

There are two ways to listen and/or participate in what will be fascinating conversations — listen online at www.blogtalkradio.com/realwomenonhealth or call toll-free (646) 929-2625.

For more information on this series or how to sponsor shows, please contact Cassie Holm, cassie@realwomenonhealth.com or call 201-417-1309.

By Glenna Crooks. Rittenhouse Square in Philly, a holiday weekend and great weather made for the perfect place for light reading this weekend. I got magazines with the intention of doing just that – and did. It was great to be outside on warm, breezy days.

However, my mood soured about half way into Spirituality&Health, reading an article about a possible new cancer therapy.

It describes the observations of Mamdooh Ghoneum, PhD: cancer cells are attracted to, ‘eat’ heat-killed baker’s yeast and then die. That’s good news. It happens in labs and in mice, who apparently suffer no side effects. That’s good news, too. Approval for testing in other animals is pending. I hope he gets it. We need progress in the healing of people with cancer.

Why the sour mood? Dr. Ghoneum is hero enough for making the observation and following through with studies. He’ll be all the more heroic if he continues and learns from whatever comes next.

The article does not stop with the ‘scientist vs disease’ heroic tale, however. It goes further to paint an unfortunate and ill-informed, biased contrast – between an altruistic pioneer using his personal savings and fund raising efforts to find a cure vs a greedy, patent-dependent industry hungry to return to shareholders the $800M – $2B quoted as the cost of developing a medicine. It asserts that industry would never develop a ‘natural’ product, saying: “Nowadays, a cancer cure that is all natural, non-toxic, simple to administer and inexpensive to produce has become an economic non-starter.”

Drug Development and Approval. Dr. Ghoneum is currently at the drug ‘research’ phase. This is the easy part. Get past animal research and the ‘development’ phase begins. Move into humans and the costs pile up fast – so do the failures. He’ll face institutional review boards, numerous negotiations with FDA over appropriate surrogate markers and end points, challenges of getting patients into clinical trials, careful management of clinical research sites and exquisite documentation at every stage. This is the phase that washes out all but 1-2 of every 10,000 drugs discovered.

Add to that, this is a yeast product – a biological – which means he’ll have to satisfy FDA that there is ‘batch to batch’ consistency in the product as he scales up for clinical studies and, if the product succeeds, eventual market use.

Since he intends to develop a treatment safe, effective and affordable enough for poor people around the world, he will also face regulatory requirements, and perhaps clinical trials, in those nations as well.   (more…)

By Joy Burwell

You’re Invited to

“Solutions To Scale: Proven Health Care Models for Primetime”

 Wednesday, June 30, 2010

 9:00 – 11:30 am

Breakfast will be served at 8:30 am

Kaiser Family Foundation

Barbara Jordan Conference Center

1330 G Street, NW

Washington, DC 20004

 Raise the Voice, a program of the American Academy of Nursing supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, showcases the work of “Edge Runners” – nurse researchers and experts who have developed proven care models and interventions that demonstrate significantly improved clinical outcomes and cost savings.  The Edge Runners will share their experiences to highlight what does and does not work for consideration by federal and state agencies during health care implementation.

Welcome:

• Diana J. Mason, PhD, RN, FAAN, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, American Journal of Nursing
• The Honorable Robert Borski

Opening Remarks:

• Ken Thorpe, PhD, Department of Health Policy and Management, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University

Panel One:

• Tina Johnson, CNM, MS, Practicing Nurse Midwife
• Tine Hansen-Turton, MGA, JD, CEO, National Nursing Centers Consortium, Executive Director, Convenient Care Association, Raise the Voice Edge Runner
• Eileen M. Sullivan-Marx, PhD, CRNP, FAAN, Advisor, Living Independently For Elders (LIFE), Raise the Voice Edge Runner
• Deirdre Baggot, BSN, MBA, Administrator for Cardiac and Vascular Services, Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital, CMS ACE Demonstration Site for Bundling Payments
• Sandra Haldane, BSN, MS, RN, Chief Nurse, Indian Health Service

Panel Two:

• Randall Krakauer, MD, FACP, FACR, Head of Medicare Medical Management, Aetna
• Susan Reinhard, PhD, RN, FAAN, Senior Vice President, AARP Public Policy Institute, Chief Strategist, Center to Champion Nursing In America
• Matt Salo, Director Health and Human Services Committee, National Governors Association

Moderator:

• Scott Hensley, National Public Radio

RSVP: Joy Burwell 202-263-2971 or jburwell@amplifypublicaffairs.net

Sponsored by the American Academy of Nursing’s Raise the Voice Campaign. Raise the Voice is supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

GENETIC ALLIANCE 2nd ANNUAL GENE SCREEN FILM FESTIVAL

THURSDAY, JULY 15, 2010

Three screenings: 6:00 p.m., 7:30 p.m., & 9:00 p.m.

By Sharon Terry. Genetic Alliance will host its second annual Gene Screen mini-film festival in conjunction with its 2010 Annual Conference, Advancing Novel Partnerships.

This innovative event will shed light on the important world of health and genetics. Numerous creative and informative entries were received for this festival and after a competitive selection process the following films were chosen to be screened:

6:00 p.m. Screening: In My Hands: A Story of Marfan Syndrome – A film that focuses on people learning to live with Marfan Syndrome, a little-known and potentially fatal genetic connective tissue disorder. By following several families we see the despair and loneliness of trying to fit in with what is deemed normal, and we are moved by the hope and inspiration in finding a unique beauty within oneself.

7:30 p.m. Screening:  

• The Power of Two – A feature-length, character-driven documentary in production with international implications about the importance of organ donation and transplantation, Cystic Fibrosis awareness and related health causes. This short clip from “The Power Of Two” will engage and inspire people by conveying a fundamental truth: There is a miracle in every breath.
• Mito-Kids: Documenting Life – In a family shadowed by disease, there is a fine line between spoiling your kids and making sure every day is treasured.
• Jewish Genetic Disease – A film about the lives of three separate families that have experience with a Jewish genetic disorder.
• On Beauty – An excerpt from a film in production follows former fashion photographer Rick Guidotti as he skillfully employs his lens to redefine beauty by photographing children who are often relegated to the shadows because of their genetic conditions. His images are celebrations of life.

9:00 p.m. Screening: Darius Goes West: The Roll of His Life – A group of college students take 15-year-old Darius Weems, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, out west to try to get his wheelchair customized on “Pimp My Ride.”

Q & A with the filmmakers will follow each of the three screenings. Come for all three, two, or just one. For more information on the Gene Screen visit: http://www.geneticalliance.org/genescreen2010.

 WHEN:  Thursday, July 15, 2010 ~ Three screenings: 6:00 p.m., 7:30 p.m., & 9:00 p.m.     

 WHERE:  E Street Cinema ~ 555 11th Street NW, Washington, DC  (entrance on E St between 10th and 11th St)

 TO RSVP:  Contact Joy Burwell at jburwell@amplifypublicaffairs.net or call 202-263-2971

On June 8th, in conjunction with Health 2.0 Goes to Washington, we held a Disruptive Women breakfast on the topic of Health 2.0. For highlights, read our summary and watch the video below.

By Becca Camp. I am a pre-med student. In the last year, I’ve had the unique opportunity to attend several conferences that shaped my sense of vocation. Perhaps most significant was Mayo Clinic’s TRANSFORM Symposium, hosted by their Center for Innovation; over the course of a weekend, my calling to study care delivery (how to get high-quality care to people who need it the most) was unearthed. Volunteering at TEDMED first left me feeling discouraged; surely there was no way I’d ever make the same impact as the Dean Kamens and Craig Venters of the world. Almost immediately, though, I found myself surrounded by attendees who looked at me plainly and asked, “Why not?” They had no doubt in their mind about my potential, and as the conference progressed, I was able to tamp down my own doubt. With my newfound determination in place, I went to DC10 Summit Series where I was introduced to the people of my own generation who have a concrete plan for changing the world. This year I’ve been able to meet invaluable mentors, and been exposed to incredible ideas.

These opportunities came about largely from my use of networking on blogs and Twitter. I continue to be surprised and delighted by the people who reach out when I talk about things that interest me, and who offer to get me more involved in the conversation at these conferences. Once there, I become the pupil of every person I meet. But naturally, I tend to be one of the only students, if not the sole representative, at every conference I attend. I’m surrounded by very few peers.

The result of these conferences was the discovery of my mission: effecting a paradigm shift in the culture of health in this country. It’s the vision that keeps me committed to writing, studying, and applying to medical school. But when I go back to class, and try to talk to my colleagues about what I’ve learned, I have trouble finding anyone interested in listening. It’s clear that the lack of a shared experience precludes shared enthusiasm. Inevitably, my professors are the only ones willing to engage in conversation about what drives me–and I go right back to being a solitary pupil. Broaching topics such as care delivery with my pre-med colleagues is often met with blank stares or flippant remarks about helping people being a means to a financial end. Additionally (and I hesitate to generalize), but in my experience, it seems that the women I encounter in my classes are difficult to engage about larger matters of vision. Older generations of feminists remember a time where young women were afraid to show their intelligence and competence in conversations that go beyond daily life and relationship issues. Could this still be going on?

Of course, the internet gives me the ability to connect with passionate women and men of all ages who are as eager as I am to teach and learn. However, the absence of face-to-face interaction nags at me–savvy as I may be at building relationships in my social networks online, those professional relationships become the most meaningful and permanent only after meeting in person. All this leaves me in a sort of liminal space, somewhere between the students I spend time with every day and the mentors who show me what is possible.

So here’s an open question for Disruptive Women: How does one go about establishing a peer group, one that gathers like-minded young people (women, in particular)? With or without access to the internet, during college as well as later in life, how did you find the people who engaged you?

By Sheryl Flynn.  Earlier this week, the American Heart Association (AHA) announced a new partnership with Nintendo of America.  According to their website (www.activeplaynow.com), the AHA and Nintendo are working together to promote physically active play as a part of a healthy lifestyle. This is the first time that the AHA has partnered with the video game industry to help consumers discover how video games that incorporate movement can be beneficial to health.  According to their “Healthy Lifestyle Tips” they encourage everyone in the house to enjoy active-play video games together and when the weather prevents outdoor activities- they encourage hosting an active-play video game tournament in your living room. 

 Today, according to AHA’s press release- They are not supporting playing all video games in an effort to promote a healthy lifestyle- only the Nintendo games such as WiiFit™ Plus and Wii Sports Resort™ software for the Wii are supported by the AHA.  The AHA’s logo will be found on these products beginning this summer. 

 The AHA is “trying to reach people where they are.”  They suggest that if you don’t move at all- move some.  If you move a little, move a little more.  In essence, if you go outside and play sports or are already active- they are not suggesting that you come inside and play video games- rather, they are trying to get those people who play video games (or are otherwise) mostly inactive- to start doing something active.  They figure, if you like playing video games and typically play video games with your thumbs while surfing the couch- perhaps you could get a little exercise by playing active video games. They are targeting the “no physical activity” group and trying to get them to move!

So, as one would expect- there is controversy over the two companies working together.  Some people believe that both Nintendo and the AHA see a significant return on their partnership investment.  But the AHA has suggested that this is not the case.  Nintendo has contributed $1.5million to AHA to fund a prevention platform aimed at informing Americans about heart disease and stroke prevention.  Another important consideration to keep in mind is that Nintendo is not the only “active-play” video game company out there.  Sony PlayStation released the “EyeToy” years before the Wii and it offers many hours of fun, active gaming as well.  The EyeToy is fun because you can see a video projection of yourself in the game, rather than controlling an avatar as with the Wii games. Microsoft plans to release Project Natal later this year- these games will also offer hours of active gaming fun! There are a number of other off-the-shelf gaming devices that promote active gaming- the consumer should be encouraged to seek the game that would be most fun for them. 

Perhaps most exciting, however, is the Innovation Summit that the AHA intends to host.  With $350,000 support from Nintendo, the AHA will bring together “Thought Leaders” in the area of health care, research, physical activity, fitness and video gaming to look at the synergies and potential benefits of active-play video games and physically active lifestyles.  Now that is exciting!  Finally!  The game industry, researchers and health care industry all together in one room to envision the future!  Wow!

The Kreeger Museum’s Great Hall. Photo by Robert Lautman, 2004.

By Judy Greenberg. Conversations at The Kreeger Museum: A Program for People Living with Alzheimer’s Disease and their Caregivers

On behalf of The Kreeger Museum, I am thrilled to announce the development of a new art program especially designed for people living with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), their families and caregivers.  Modeled after the pioneering Meet Me at MoMA (Museum of Modern Art, NYC) program (est. 2006), Conversations at The Kreeger Museum will similarly provide a forum for dialogue and connection through looking at art.  Docents and other arts specialists will conduct small interactive tours and discussions through the museum’s accessible galleries and grounds. During the program, tours will have exclusive access to the museum’s great architecture, sculpture, and paintings on one designated day per month.  The program will be free of charge to not only patients suffering from the disease but also to caregivers and family members who often face significant medical, emotional and economic challenges as a direct result of this devastating disease.  Initially the program will provide art tours only. In future years, it is hoped that Conversations will grow to include art making workshops, outdoor garden walks and intergenerational components.

The Kreeger Museum is uniquely equipped to create a positive and beneficial experience for AD patients and their caregivers.  The museum is a private, non-profit art museum located in what was formerly the private residence of David and Carmen Kreeger.  The Kreegers were passionate about art, music, and architecture and about how these endeavors enrich, enliven, and enhance the human experience.   In the early 1960’s, they asked Philip Johnson to design a home for them that could be easily converted to a museum upon their passing.  After Mr. Kreeger passed away in 1990, we officially opened as a museum in 1994.

The building’s timeless elegance reflects the architect’s passion for and knowledge of history and architectural styles from many great cultures and traditions.  It displays the Kreegers’ permanent collection of 19th and 20th Century paintings and sculpture.  The nearly 200 works in the collection include paintings by Monet, van Gogh, Picasso, Cézanne, Chagall, Rodin, Mirό, Moore, Kandinsky, Léger as well as very fine examples of African and Asian Art.  Through our numerous contemporary programs and exhibitions, work by leading current artists, like William Kentridge, Sam Gilliam, and William Christenberry, is also displayed.

Although we are still in the development phase of Conversations, we have already forged partnerships with leading local institutions and service providers (The National Institute on Aging, the National Coalition on Creative Aging, Sibley Hospital and Grand Oaks Assisted Living, IONA Senior Services, and others) to deliver a distinctly rich and beneficial program.  We hope to be fully operational and offering tours by November 2010.

Please stay tuned here for future announcements and if you would like more specific information about the program please contact, Derya Samadi, Program Manager at Conversations@kreegermuseum.org or 202 337-3050 ext. 18.

The Kreeger Museum is located at 2401 Foxhall Road, NW in Washington, DC.  If you would like to make a reservation for a tour please contact the Reservation Office by email VisitorServices@kreegermuseum.org or by phone (Monday through Friday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm): 202-338-3552.  For more general information, please check our website at www.kreegermuseum.org.

By Hygeia. Several Disruptive Women in Health Care are very involved in the high tech or biotech space.  We thought it was important to let you know about this exciting program—one that is taking place in our backyard.  We encourage as many of you ladies out there with an interest in health, science, innovation and business to attend—we need to spread the estrogen around – there are many women in and out of the I-270 corridor who are making enormous contributions to these fields. Don’t let the men do all the talking—join the conversation and join us on June 1st.

Click here to see the full announcement. If the image in your browser appears small, click to enlarge.

Yin versus Yang. East versus West. Technology versus theology. Two Fox topics I covered within a single week were at seemingly opposite ends of the healthcare spectrum. Both were moving. Both made a meaningful difference in peoples lives. Which was better? I was confused…until I started writing the last paragraph of this blog.

Bill Carlson is a 60 year old man that I met online about a year ago during the weekly Fox chat with viewers. “Shellback,” his screen name, signed in every few weeks with progress updates on his recovery from a heart transplant…and then always commented on the wonderful care he received at the University of Minnesota. Since April is National Donate Life Month, I invited him to be a guest on Tuesday, April 20. His story was a medical miracle.

Bill’s congestive heart failure symptoms were easily managed on medication for the first several years that he was diagnosed. Then, in early 2008, his cardiac function quickly deteriorated and by September 2008, he was dying. His ejection fraction was 10%. He had multi-organ failure, gastrointestinal bleeding and was comatose. His family had decided to withdraw life support, but just in time, Bill stabilized and the University surgeons decided to insert an LVAD– an implanted mechanical pump that helps the ventricle pump blood throughout the body. If it worked, there was a chance he’d survive the wait for a donor heart.

Bill had a cardiac arrest during the LVAD placement. Unable to regain a heart rhythm, the surgeon found the family in the waiting room and told them the bad news: “I am so sorry. We lost Bill on the table.” He sat with the Bill’s wife and daughters for a bit then went back into the operating room to finish up. But, he came back twenty minutes later and said, “Don’t go too far. He’s alive again.” For the next nine months, Bill changed his LVAD batteries every four hours, and on June 7, 2009, his cell phone rang. A young man in Pittsburgh had just died. Then next day, Shellback got a new heart.

If Bill had end stage heart failure just five years earlier, he’d wouldn’t be alive. Technology had defied death. This was the yin. Health….from the outside in.
(more…)

Kelley Connors

This post was written by Kelley Connors, President, Founder, Real Women on Health!

Life has a way of taking its twists and turns and ups and downs…and soon enough we’re over 40 and wondering when, if ever, we’ll “hit our stride”.

Self-acceptance and self-esteem are closely related…and arises as you learn that you are perfect with all your accomplishments, victories, and … vices. Self-acceptance is as essential to one’s well-being as water is to a blooming flower. Have you ever re-framed your “inadequacies” and lack of self-acceptance into a humor and candor….where laughter has a place in healing and well-being?

Move over Candace Bushnell… and meet Amy Cohen, a New York Times Best-selling author of “The Late Bloomer Revolution”. Amy says it well here, “I like to think of myself as a late bloomer, one who will, however, late come into bloom.   Although when, and if, I bloom remain a mystery. I wish I knew how to speak a foreign language fluently.  I wish I knew how to cook a simple roast chicken, or that I had read the Idiot whose main character sounds like someone I can relate to.

By 35, Amy learned to ride the bike of her life. Click here to take the Late Bloomer’s Quiz and join “The Late Bloomer’s Revolution”.

Speaking of living life on our terms…learn what’s going on “inside the beltway” and take control of your healthcare with our radio show’s Washington, DC correspondent, Robin Strongin. A true woman’s advocate with the connections to make it happen, she reveals the knowledge that will empower us women to become our own best health and wellness advocates.

Robin is the founder of Disruptive Women in Healthcare, a thriving blogging community of high powered women who are driving innovation in healthcare with thought-provoking ideas and commentary on the nation’s challenges. This week, she’s disrupting the status quo with a grasp on why you can’t take clinical trial information at face value…what you need to ask your doctor to stay in control of your health and well-being.

Join Kelley, Cassie, Robin and Amy on Real Women on Health! live talk radio this Wednesday, May 5th at 8 pm – 9 pm EST on your computer at www.wstcwnlk.com streaming live or, if you live near Fairfield County, Connecticut  listen “on the AM dial” at 1350/1400.

This blog entry was originally posted in Real Women on Health! on May 3, 2010.

By Tine Hansen-Turton.   A recent Pew Research Center report on the nation’s mood concluded that two-thirds of the public is dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country. With consumer confidence plunging, the jobless rate rising, millions of people uninsured or under insured and the American economy faltering in a way most of us have never seen before, there appears to be little hope of good economic news anytime soon.

 A look back in history, though, tells us that hard times can produce innovation and invention.

We’re not talking about those businesses that thrive in tough times or entrepreneurs with products that sell when the economy is down. We’re talking about basic ideas that can improve the way we live. This past fall President Obama said, “It is time to tap into the spirit of innovation that has always succeeded in moving America forward.” He’s right. The spirit of innovation is what we are about as a people, and it will always prevail. We are a people and country with the creativity to solve complex issues. And our courage to adopt good ideas is what will get America back on its feet.

Now, the best ideas are those that are good for the average person. In health care, most people want accessible, affordable, and quality care. However, 70 percent of us report that we cannot see our doctor on the same day we feel sick, and over 30 percent of us don’t have a regular doctor in the first place. Yet 90% of our basic primary health care needs can be met by a nurse practitioner who functions similarly to a doctor.

In recent years, a series of so-called “disruptive innovations,” a term coined by Harvard professor Clayton Christensen, in the health care sector have capitalized on nurse practitioners and their ability to provide high-quality primary and preventive care in convenient care clinics located in retail settings such as pharmacies, big box stores and supermarket chains – and in community settings, such as nurse-managed health centers. Research has documented that both retail-based clinics and nurse-managed health clinics provide safe, accessible and affordable care to millions of Americans. In these settings, nurse practitioners already touch millions of people each year. What this tells us is that millions of Americans are not waiting for Congress to solve the health care problem. Instead, they have voted with their feet and are changing the rules on their own.

For healthcare reform to be successful, we need to embrace these disruptive innovations. Similarly in education, parents and children are not waiting around for government to fix the education system. Instead, millions of them are flocking to alternative schools that are able to adapt to the changing needs of the students who now live in a competitive global economy.

When our education systems do not adapt and there are no alternative options, our students are voicing their own opinion by choosing not to participate at all. Many of our urban districts are experiencing drop-out rates above 50%. More and more students and their families are flocking to any available public or private option that meets their needs, academically and financially. We know how to educate our students for the 21st Century and have documented successes across the country. For education reform to be successful, our public education districts need to demonstrate the ability to adapt, and our higher education institutions need to train educators to be student-centric.

If our systems cannot adapt, then the best hope will be the expansion of the alternative options. We have all heard the adage, “necessity is the mother of invention.” With the challenges we face as a society today, whether it be health care or education, the time for invention is now.

The best ideas are grounded in solving our basic challenges. And when we focus on those everyday challenges, our spirit of American innovation truly prevails.

This post, which appeared first in the Philadelphia Social Innovations Journal, a web-based journal that highlights regional innovators – www.philasocialinnovations.org, was co-written by Tine Hansen-Turton and Nick Torres.