There is nothing more frustrating than having a very sick family member in a hospital and not being given an opportunity to talk to members of the care team in order to understand what is happening. Here is a case … Continue reading →

AUDIO FILE CONTINUITY OF CARE Continuity of care is the co-ordination of care provided by different types of providers, the recognition and management of active problems ( that change from day to day) and the  management of transitions in states … Continue reading →

AUDIO: LISTEN TO DR RUPERT EXPLAIN MOLECULAR PROFILING Clara is a 62 year old patient with a complex past history. About 20 years ago, she had an early stage cervical cancer removed. Now she presents with masses in her peritoneum/abdomen … Continue reading →

Health system problems are not only complex, they are “wicked” problems. Traditional thinking doesn’t solve wicked problems. Wicked problems have innumerable causes, are tough to describe and do not have a right answer(s). What is needed is a new way … Continue reading →

There is a revolution occurring in hospitals in British Columbia. Hospitals are paid for helping patients instead of being paid for just keeping their doors open. This new method of funding for hospitals is called “patient focused funding”. This is … Continue reading →

AUDIO. FILE. LISTEN TO SURGICAL SECOND OPINION We have found that if a client is facing major surgery, then a second opinion can be very helpful. Here is a case study: a 45 year old previously well engineer had major … Continue reading →

AUDIO FILE – LISTEN TO BLOG POST unjustified.confidence.Untitled 004 When we make decisions, it is common to expect consistency and therefore to be overly confident in the decision; however, this is often a common error. As Daneil Kahneman, the psychologist and … Continue reading →

A recent publication by the Cleveland Clinic (2007-2008) reviewing sentinel events- unanticipated events in a healthcare setting that result in death or serious physical or psychological injury to the patient, were in 43% of sentinel events related to suboptimal (poor/ineffective/non-collaborative) … Continue reading →

Everyone is concerned about the rising cost of healthcare. Unfortunately, and somewhat ironically, no one knows the true and total costs of healthcare services. The question, of course, is how can you manage costs if you don’t know what services … Continue reading →

AUDIO ( Listen to the blog) Bauhaus.design.thinking. On a recent trip to Berlin, I was able to tour the Bauhaus archives.  This collection revealed a unique creative environment in Berlin in the 1920′s  that produced radically new and functional designs. … Continue reading →