Patient Experience Improvement

Everyone talks about access to medicine. But what about access to understanding it That’s the real blind spot. Because even when patients have the right diagnosis, prescription, or care plan, many don’t fully grasp what it means for their bodies, or their future. That’s health literacy. And it’s the silent barrier we don’t talk enough about. In fact, a recent study found that only 9.8% of Indians have “adequate” health literacy. Which means over 90% may not know: → How to read a prescription label properly → What their symptoms might indicate → The actual consequences of skipping medication for just a few days I’ve been in pharma for 20+ years, and I’ve seen this up close. We launch life-saving drugs, and we push for accessibility. But if people don’t understand what they’re taking and why, it’s like handing out parachutes without telling them how to pull the cord. So what’s the fix? ✓ Making health information simpler, clearer, and more local ✓ Collaboration with educators and public health systems ✓ Treating“health literacy” like any other public health investment Because the best medicines in the world mean little if people are left confused, fearful, or misinformed. It’s not just a pharma concern, it’s a wider system challenge that’s often overlooked. And it’s time we gave it the attention it needs. How are you solving this in your work?

Supporting someone who is displaying negative emotions requires empathy, patience, and thoughtful communication. Here's a five-paragraph guide to help you navigate this sensitive situation: 1. Practice Active Listening The first and most important step is to listen truly. When someone is upset, they often need to feel heard more than anything else. Please give them your full attention, put away distractions, maintain eye contact, and use body language that shows you're engaged. Avoid interrupting or offering solutions immediately. Instead, reflect what they’re saying to show understanding, such as “It sounds like you’re feeling overwhelmed.” This validates their experience and helps them feel less alone. 2. Offer Emotional Validation People experiencing negative emotions often fear being judged or dismissed. Validate their feelings by acknowledging that what they’re going through is real and understandable. You don’t have to agree with their perspective to show empathy. Phrases like “That must be really tough” or “I can see why you’d feel that way” can go a long way. Validation helps reduce shame and encourages openness, which is essential for emotional healing. 3. Avoid Toxic Positivity and Quick Fixes While it’s tempting to cheer someone up with phrases like “Just stay positive” or “It could be worse,” these can feel dismissive. Instead of rushing to fix the problem or reframe it, sit with their discomfort. Let them express their emotions fully without pressure to move on quickly. Sometimes, the most supportive thing you can do is simply be present and let them know it’s okay to feel what they’re feeling. 4. Encourage Healthy Coping Strategies Once the person feels heard and validated, gently suggest ways they might cope or seek support. This could include talking to a therapist, journaling, exercising, or spending time in nature. Offer to help them take the first step if they’re open to it, like researching counsellors or going for a walk together. Be careful not to push; your role is to support, not to direct. Empower them to make choices that feel right for them. 5. Be Consistently Supportive Support doesn’t end after one conversation. Check in regularly, even with a simple message like “Thinking of you today.” Consistent care builds trust and shows that your concern is genuine. Be patient, emotional recovery isn’t linear, and setbacks are normal. Your ongoing presence can be a powerful reminder that they’re not alone and that someone truly cares. This could even be life-saving.

In hard moments, advice can feel like dismissal. That shows up in healthcare all the time. → A patient shares a fear. → A family member spirals. → A colleague admits they're at capacity. And the professional instinct kicks in immediately. You explain. Reassure. Solve. But in that moment, most people are not asking: "How do I fix this?" They're asking: "Do you understand what this feels like?" That's where a lot of smart, capable people get this wrong. They move to solutions too quickly. Not because they don't care. Because they do. But advice, reassurance, or information given too early can land badly. It can sound like: → "Getting upset won't help right now." → "Let me explain what's going to happen." → "We need to focus on the practical side of this." And when someone feels rushed past, they lose emotional safety. They can't be fully honest, fully present, or fully able to take in what you're saying. What they need first isn't a fix or an explanation. Just someone showing them that their reaction makes sense. 💬 A patient says they're scared about what comes next. ❌ Don't start with a long explanation. ✅ Instead: "That makes sense. There's a lot to take in." 💬 A family member says they feel completely overwhelmed. ❌ Don't rush straight to logistics. ✅ Instead: "This is a lot. No wonder it feels overwhelming." 💬 A healthcare colleague says they're drowning. ❌ Don't jump straight to efficiency advice. ✅ Instead: "You've been carrying a lot. I can see why it feels heavy." Validation does not replace action. It creates the conditions for action to land. And that's the part many high-performers miss: The faster you try to solve the problem, the more alone the other person can feel. Sometimes the most supportive thing you can say is not advice. It's: "That makes sense." What's one phrase that helps people feel heard in hard moments? ----- ♻️ Repost to help patients, families, and healthcare teams feel more supported in difficult conversations. ➕ Follow Kristin Flanary for practical communication insights for healthcare professionals.

Since we’re talking healthcare reform, let’s consider: 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 and 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. Mark Cuban’s transparency ideas: publishing prices, simplifying incentives, and exposing inefficiencies—shows how markets can do much of the heavy lifting. But healthcare doesn't behave like other markets. People aren’t always “rational actors,” and patients aren’t “equally informed consumers.” I'd like to see us leverage AI to help out. By pairing transparency with AI-driven tools, we can address the gaps in rational behavior, improve decision-making, and align incentives across the board. Here’s how AI could support transparency and innovation for each key stakeholder in U.S. healthcare: 🏛️Governments AI can monitor costs, quality, and outcomes in real time, making inefficiencies and disparities visible. Predictive analytics could forecast the impacts of new policies, making Medicare and Medicaid more efficient. AI could also detect and address rampant Medicare fraud, and government could fund AI tool development for doctors, nurses, and patients (below). 💼Insurers as Third-Party Administrators Insurers acting as TPAs could automate claims processing (without default denials), streamline workflows, and reduce errors. Transparent data-sharing with employers and providers would improve coordination while eliminating financial incentives to block care. 🏢Employers (althought I'd prefer we separate healthcare from employment entirely) Employers could use AI to analyze employee health trends, target wellness programs, and reduce absenteeism and workers' comp claims. 💊Pharma Pharma's already adopting AI for drug discovery — bravo! But we desperately need transparency, like Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, PBC is doing. Why are Americans paying so much for our medicines? 🏥Hospitals/Health Systems AI could optimize patient flow and reduce bottlenecks in emergency rooms and ORs. Transparent reporting on costs and outcomes would help patients and payers compare hospitals and push for better value. 👩⚕️👨⚕️Doctors & Nurses AI could drastically reduce charting, coding, and documentation burdens, allowing providers to focus more on patients. It could also help process the massive amounts of data doctors and nurses need to interpret every day, improving decisions and outcomes. Could be a godsend. 🙋♂️Patients AI could empower patients with tools like a “foundational health” chatbot for basic health concerns, offering self-care advice and directing them to a doctor or ER when needed. Trust me: "My child has a fever" and "Does this cut need stitches" chatbot could help every stakeholder in this list. 💡 The Opportunity Ahead Transparency exposes inefficiencies, and AI helps fix them? Together, they could simplify processes, align incentives, and improve outcomes across the system. If we combine these forces (along with a bunch of other changes, to be clear), we can build a healthcare system that works for everyone.

The 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 (𝐏𝐑𝐨𝐅) teaching case shows how a large healthcare consortium and a small group of manufacturers collaborated to rethink innovation in a highly regulated sector. At its core, the case demonstrates how PRoF turned the interaction between two very different communities into its main innovation engine. The large consortium represents the healthcare user community: nurses, doctors, caregivers, patients, and hospital managers who express the lived reality of care. Their contribution is experiential and value-based. Through structured “brainwave sessions,” they surface latent needs and convert them into broad keywords such as comfort, privacy, dignity, or anti-loneliness. These keywords form a shared language that avoids technical jargon and allows hundreds of users with diverse perspectives to converge around common priorities. The small consortium consists of manufacturers, architects, and designers who have the capabilities to transform these user insights into concrete room concepts. Their commercial goals are kept strictly outside the creative process, allowing trust to grow between the groups. Once the user community defines the keywords, the producer community develops prototypes, after which the large consortium returns to evaluate and refine them. This modular sequencing keeps tensions low, ensures rapid progress, and prevents commercial logic from dominating user needs. The interaction between these two communities solves a longstanding problem in healthcare innovation: suppliers often misunderstand user needs, while users lack the means to innovate. PRoF bridges this gap by letting users drive ideation and letting producers translate that insight into solutions. What emerges is a genuinely user-oriented innovation ecosystem in which neither community could succeed alone, but together they generate concepts that reshape expectations of care design. You can find the case study at HBSP: https://lnkd.in/e6nxTFM7 #UserCentricInnovation #Collaboration #OpenInnovation #CrossCommunityCollaboration #HealthcareEcosystems #CoCreation #Ideation

Design like this doesn’t just help. It dignifies. Not just for the 44% of people in Australia with low literacy, but for people like me, overwhelmed and lost, in a moment of panic. It’s an Easy English poster in a hospital elevator, letting people know they can ask for help to hear, talk, understand or move around. It points to the Disability Liaison Officer, who can help navigate care. And I stood there, overwhelmed with quiet tears. In the same hospital halls I’ve been visiting regularly for over 6 years. Because once again, I found myself unable to process even simple instructions. I am, by most standards, a highly literate person. I lead strategy. I change hearts, minds and systems. I work in inclusive design. ❤️ But trauma doesn’t check your résumé. ❤️ PTSD doesn’t care about your reading level. ❤️ And stress can scramble even the sharpest minds. That’s why signs like this one matter. Not just for people with intellectual disability, but for anyone whose body and brain are not at their best. 👏 That includes people in pain.  👏 People with anxiety.  👏 People navigating grief.  👏 People navigating systems not designed with them in mind. Accessibility is not about "other people". It’s about all of us. Design like this doesn’t just help. It dignifies. 📍 Seen at Austin Health, elevator poster created by Scope. #TraumaInformedDesign #InclusiveDesign #EasyEnglish #DisabilityInclusion #HealthAccessibility #PatientExperience #DesignForDignity #MostlyUnlearning #Disability #DisabilityLeadership

What exactly can healthcare leaders learn from patients? I had a heart transplant a few years ago. Being a patient-doctor has given me some perspective I didn’t have before, and I think we can sometimes benefit from hearing more directly from people who’ve had to "live" inside the system. Here are a few things I’ve learned that might be useful: - Clear, simple care helps everyone. Even when patients understand the medical language, fatigue, brain fog, & multiple inputs can make it hard to keep track. What looks like “non-adherence” perhaps sometimes stems from having to manage too much at once. - Misalignment between teams is common. Patients often get different messages depending on who they talk to, even during the same hospital stay. In my opinion, improving internal communication can help affect outcomes & even patient behavior. - Waiting is a big part of the patient experience, and it can feel like being stuck in limbo. ⏰ I know clinicians aren’t trying to delay care. In fact, many of us are juggling a lot at once without enough hours in a day to finish everything. Still, even small gaps in communication can add stress. It’s worth understanding when and where these delays happen most. - Small interactions shape how patients feel about care. The basic things, like someone introducing themselves or explaining what’s happening in plain language, is so important in helping reduce anxiety. 💯 - Discharge planning usually doesn’t cover everything. 🚗 After hospitalization, there are still many loose ends (like medication access, symptom monitoring, emotional adjustment, etc). Patients who are stable enough to go home aren’t necessarily prepared for what comes next. A follow-up system that works well can make a big difference. - Patients + advocates should be involved in designing new systems. They often notice issues that may not be visible from within. Their input isn’t meant to challenge. Rather, it should add perspective. Not every idea will be actionable, but including these voices can hopefully lead to more thoughtful, well-rounded solutions. One quick aside: I’ve found that many healthcare workers who become patients end up shifting their own approach to care. That experience stays with them. But ideally, we don't all have to be patients to design better systems. We could just listen more to the ones who already are. 😊 #patientadvocacy #womeninmedicine #medtech #healthcareleaders

Bridging the Gap: Brains+ bodies- recognising the two together (See interesting article for references.) *Neurodivergent children and young people (CYP) often face overlooked physical health challenges such as Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS), joint hypermobility syndrome (JHS), chronic pain, and gastrointestinal (GI) issues. These health concerns exacerbate barriers in education, impacting attendance, learning, and social inclusion. Prevalence and Complexity: Neurodivergent CYP, including those with autism, ADHD, and developmental coordination disorder (DCD), experience higher rates of hypermobility, chronic pain, and GI issues.Diagnoses are often missed due to overlapping symptoms, interoceptive difficulties (trouble recognising bodily signals), and communication differences. *Educational Impact: Health-related absences disrupt routines and social engagement. Chronic pain and fatigue hinder participation and memory. Socialising: Illness-related absences heighten isolation, especially for autistic CYP who already face social barriers. Recommendations for Educational Settings Prevent penalisation for health-related absences and offer blended learning options like recorded lessons or phased returns. Adjust sensory aspects of school spaces and provide rest areas or pacing strategies for those experiencing fatigue or pain. Train staff to recognise non-verbal signs of discomfort and use tools like augmentative communication or interoceptive training. Educate staff on physical health conditions like EDS and JHS to ensure early identification and support.Validate CYP’s symptoms, adjust activities, and collaborate with parents and carers to meet their needs. Call to Action :We need to move away from narrow siloes and take an intersectional lens to supporting CYP and adults... person centered not label led. (https://lnkd.in/eQKsJsEj) #Inclusion #Neurodiversity #Education #Wellbeing #HealthEquity

Most hospitals think length of stay is a bed problem. It isn't. It's a decision problem. Hospitals lose an estimated 0.5–1.5 bed-days per patient to preventable decision delays. Not lack of capacity. Yet most interventions add beds, push discharge, or deploy AI. The bottleneck is upstream. The system is slow to decide. Over time, working across clinical care, population health, and health economics, I have found a simple framework: See. Align. Proceed. 1. See: Diagnose the system, not the symptom LOS is rarely driven by a single delay. It is a system-level outcome: diagnostics not prioritised for discharge, decisions made late in the day, fragmented ownership, planning that starts too late. From a public health perspective, this is a coordination failure, not an isolated inefficiency. Patients are often medically ready before the system is operationally ready. 2. Align: Fix incentives before scaling solutions This is where most initiatives fail. Clinicians optimise for safety. Operations optimise for throughput. Finance tracks cost, but does not control flow. No one owns end-to-end LOS. Until alignment is addressed: discharge will be delayed, variation will persist, and AI will underperform. Technology cannot compensate for misaligned incentives. 3. Proceed: Act where impact is highest and risk is controlled Only after alignment should we intervene. Start with high-leverage changes: discharge planning at admission, morning discharge rounds, prioritising diagnostics for discharge-ready patients. Then scale structurally: standardised pathways, real-time patient flow visibility, AI to predict discharge readiness and delays. The question is not "what works." It is what scales without introducing new risk. Do not reduce LOS by pushing patients out. Reduce LOS by improving how the system makes decisions. In healthcare, we do not lack solutions. We lack clarity on systems, discipline in alignment, and rigour in execution. That is where sustainable impact lies. This is part of a series on decision problems in healthcare. Most healthcare challenges are not constrained by resources. They are constrained by how decisions are structured and executed. I will be sharing practical frameworks across healthcare systems, AI, and capital. Connect if you are working on similar problems. #HealthSystems #AIinHealthcare #PatientFlow #ClinicalLeadership #HealthEconomics

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: (𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀) Ever notice how Quality, R&D, Regulatory and Marketing teams seem to speak completely different languages? This disconnect isn't just frustrating, it's costing your medical device company time, money, and potentially regulatory approval In my personal experience, I've seen how departmental friction can derail even the most promising innovations 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘀 👉 Delayed submissions and market entry 👉 Regulatory surprises late in development 👉 Documentation rework and compliance gaps 👉 Increased development costs 👉 Team frustration and burnout Here's how to create seamless collaboration across your MedTech organization: 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭: 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 Create a development council with representatives from Quality, Regulatory, R&D, Manufacturing, Marketing and Clinical. Meet bi-weekly with a structured agenda (top tip keep the minutes to use towards management reviews). 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲: A Class II device manufacturer implemented this model and reduced their development timeline by 30%, if not more, by identifying regulatory concerns during concept phase rather than pre-submission. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲-𝗚𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 Don't move to the next development phase without formal sign-off from every department. This prevents costly backtracking 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲: During a stage-gate review (Design Review), a clinical specialist identified that the intended claims presented by the regulatory team would require further clinical data. By catching this early, the company adjusted their development plan rather than facing a surprise 6-month+ delay come submission time 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟯: 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲 Develop a glossary of terms that bridges departmental jargon. This prevents miscommunication that leads to rework. 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲: One client I worked with created a “MedTech Translation Guide” with input from each department. Not only did it reduce confusion, but it also built mutual respect engineers finally understood what the regulatory team meant by “intended use” and marketers stopped using terms that could trigger a knock on the door by Competent Authorities 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲? When this is done right, it accelerates development, strengthens compliance, and builds a more engaged team ✅ Faster to market ✅ Fewer compliance surprises ✅ Less internal friction If you're building your next-gen device and struggling with internal disconnects, it’s time to rethink how your teams work 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 💬 I'd love to hear: How does your team keep cross-functional collaboration on track? #MedTech  #MedicalDevice #ProductDevelopment