3 Strategic Shifts to Enable People-centered Collaboration in Health Care in 2024

“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” - Albert Einstein

Historically, healthcare systems have followed the path that clinicians have on their medical training journey - becoming increasingly specialized over time to ensure no stone is left unturned. And, no doubt, that has led to remarkable advancements.

But hyper-specialized expertise creates entrenched siloes that make it difficult to see problems within and opportunities beyond.

Further, today’s healthcare delivery problems are often wicked and ambiguous, not clear and contained.

What if healthcare delivery was more than a specialized service model that insisted “patients” come to it on its terms? What if it became a holistic, people-centered collaboration model that transcended traditional boundaries and met people where they were?

Here are 3 strategic shifts crucial to enable this in 2024 (and beyond!):

1️⃣ From Designing for Patients to Designing with People:

Patient-centered care is vital, but it's time to broaden our lens.

Let's prioritize understanding the needs of patients as people beyond their medical conditions. Further, let’s understand the context and circumstances of communities - engaging with clinicians, families, support systems, and community partners. Structured interviews and co-design sessions can lead us toward a system rooted in understanding and partnership.

2️⃣ From Siloed and Specialist-Led to Cross-Disciplinary and Generalist-Led:

Breaking free from hyper-specialization, we need cross-disciplinary partnerships led by generalist integrators.

These leaders convene specialists and experts, exploring patterns and opportunities beyond siloes. Collaboratively, we can then apply insights and solutions in innovative ways, addressing complex, ambiguous healthcare delivery problems.

3️⃣ From Mechanistic Business Management to Relational Stakeholder Empowerment:

Everyone, especially those closest to the problems, holds valuable insights on improving healthcare.

Let's shift from treating patient-provider interactions as time-boxed revenue generators to trusted care partnerships nurtured over time. Clinical providers, our healthcare backbone, are a goldmine of foundational insights. How might we create and foster environments that value, trust, and empower them to pioneer innovative care models?

In 2024, let's weave these threads together—creating a community-centered, generalist integrator-led, and stakeholder-empowered healthcare system.

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Hi, I’m Joel Worthington, and I help service-oriented, intrapreneurial leaders harness the power of collaboration and subject matter expertise to elevate the value of cross-disciplinary teams and partners.

Email me at joel@jwcollaborative.com to connect about #collaboration #codesign #humancentereddesign #facilitation #coaching and #coachsulting