An Introduction to Health Commons

This is a lovely video by John Wilbanks explaining the problem that Health Commons is attempting to solve through the connecting silos of knowledge using good design and good ol' trail and error.



Many of the points John so clearly describes are relevant to the work we're doing.

Part of his presentation discusses the need for trial and error in order to learn what works - a favorite topic at Logical Steps. Many of our projects over the years have required us to build things that we've never seen or heard of before. As humans our need for cognition leads us to seek to understand what we're building, how effective it will be and when it will be ready. Yet building something great comes from testing the boundaries and failing enough until you can formulate a strong enough hypothesis to build something that really works. This has caused us to reconsider what it means to deliver a product. We now view everything we work on in a state of evolution - a constant beta.

The video goes on to discuss connecting processes. As we've seen with Revenue Cycle University, connecting processes allow one to see the big picture and how an action in one step can affect something else that no one is yet aware of. Yet such insight comes at a cost as you need to identify, document and analyze processes before arriving at any conclusion. To get this part right requires interviews, observations, phone calls, emails, forum postings, organizing, reflection, fine-tuning, etc. We've worked out a way that allows us to teach others how to discuss their own processes and that was no small feat. So my hat's off to the folks at Health Commons for laying the groundwork for it to work the other way around.

NPR on the power industry

National Public Radio's program All Things Considered covered the power industry this week.

They detail that expertise is quickly leaving the power industry in the form of boomers retiring. We've heard this too while collaborating with Arizona State University in discussions with Arizona Power Supply. Separately I've also heard this point from major technology vendors in the utilities sector too.

This opens up great opportunities for younger people to backfill the positions. However, unless the skills are passed down quickly, the sector will likely face a skills shortfall. Complicating the matter is the introduction of newer technologies like green energy and intelligent power grids into the industry.

All of this foretells major efforts required to usher in the inevitable.