In my last podcast, I shared with you my thoughts on both insistent and disruptive change and how both could be positive or negative. Change can sometimes do a 180-degree turn and become the other. This is what I define as a Changepoint.
A changepoint is a significant moment of recognition that something is not the way it ought to be or is not the way it has always been in the past. It is both uncommon and remarkable. Some changepoints, more often the insistent than the disruptive type, can be anticipated, which means we can study them using digital databases and statistical analysis tools. Pasteur’s accidental discovery of penicillin was such a disruptive changepoint; he had not been studying mold on bread for this purpose. COVID-19 was expected, but it was not correctly anticipated for many reasons.
External and internal change has whipsawed healthcare for at least the past forty years. Most of these changes are rent on healthcare. By using changepoints to identify and diagnostically chart change, it is possible for revolutionary healthcare to go on the offensive, choosing the change it perceives a need for and pushing back against changes driven by random and uncontrollable forces.
Because we deal with illness and unhealthy people, it may seem natural that we focus on our prescribed daily details and routines without giving much thought to how things are working or how they might be improved. Yet our work is intended to heal the sick, which should be the focus of all our work efforts because restoring health is positive change and the most sought-after outcome. If we are not achieving this consistently and at a very high success ratio, we need to examine what needs to change to improve our outcomes.
I look forward to your thoughts, so please submit your comments in this post. And subscribe to my weekly newsletter, “What’s Your Take?” on DocsNetwork.com. Thanks for your time today.