Making Healthcare more Human, Design Diplomat Chris McCarthy

This week I got to see Chris McCarthy (@McCarthyChris) participate on a panel of talented design leaders in San Francisco ( Changing Healthcare Delivery Through Design, San Francisco – Eventbrite ) with a physician colleague of mine, Deb Friesen, MD, because we were both attending a visioning workshop together for Kaiser Permanente. Chris said we could come see him and voila.

It reveals my DC-ness to give him the diplomat title, I think it fits though. There has been an innovation consultancy (@KPInnovation) at Kaiser Permanente for as long as I have been an employee; we take for granted that it’s part of our culture. As a result, when Chris or members of his team represent us to the world, they represent us. This is a big part of what partnership is.

I enjoyed the comment about no one “getting” doctors. The innovation consultancy gets us, as well as getting nurses, all staff, and members/patients, which is why we like working with them.

Speaking of working with the innovation consultancy, Chris made a very important announcement on the panel that will have meaning to a lot of people in the coming months. Actually, it has a lot of meaning already. Watch this space 🙂 .

Thanks to Cooper (@Cooper), Service Design Network SF (@SDNSF), and the other esteemed panelists for working to make what we do for and with people better and more humane.

10 Comments

Ted Eytan, MD