Over at FUSE 2013 , Scott Power, Senior Brand Strategist for Kaiser Permanente, discussed sonic branding vis-à-vis KP’s work with Audiobrain.
Power pointed out how sound is being used as a way to reinforce, not only the Kaiser Permanente brand, but their services, thus helping people get healthier.
Sonic branding is hardly new, yet this powerful method is underused.
Many people think of a brand as represented by a visual trademark- a company saying: ”This is us and what we represent.” However, with regards to audio branding companies say, “This is what we are offering, and this is what we want it to sound like, and how we want it to impact your senses.” But, it doesn’t need to stop there!
Walk into a McDonald’s. It has a certain smell. Order a burger. Nothing smells like a McDonald’s burger. Those smells are all part of the brand. What about the colors? The feel of the cups? The taste? The sounds that you hear when you wait in line? Leave McDonald’s and imagine what it would be like if every car company had its own distinctive ‘new car’ smell. What if each doctor’s office had its own smell that helped patients be more calm?
The brand is more than a logo, trademark or tagline. The brand is tied intimately to the experience of a product or service. It speaks through the languages of touch, sight, taste, sound and smell. It’s creates the greatest impact when, not only does it speak for the company and its offerings, but you and I actually understand the language and it resonates with what we expect the brand to be saying. There needs to be consistency, or paraphrasing Sartre: pink cake needs to taste pink!
The exciting part of this, is that Audio branding is only the beginning…
I remember when I was a kid, my dad had gone for some tests. He had never had major tests like this before because they were testing for a terminal disease. The doctor shared the results and told him the results were negative.
His heart, and face sank…
“No, that’s good news!” the doctor responded, “It means you don’t have the disease!”
When I saw the below picture at MedicalHumour, I remembered the story and the power of words.
It got me to thinking again about the power of words. (Dr. Lera Boroditsky has done some amazing work on this) In addition, research is showing, more and more, the power of positivity
So when I saw the above picture, at first I chuckled and shared it on my Facebook page.
And then I was horrified.
This isn’t right. Hospitals are supposed to be places of healing. Leaving aside the bedside manner of physicians, the very fact that a word that carries connotations of goodness, healing, joy, and forward movement is used to convey negative news is wrong. How can we expect sick people to think in a truly life-giving and healing manner if they hear a ’good’ word conveying bad news?
I’m involved with the folks over at Positive Imperative. These folks are busy ‘driving the world to positivity,’ understanding and fostering positivity and its role in our world. (I encourage you to join them as well!) They have a movement called Posiwords that is about creating, and fostering the use of, positive words.
In a time when healthcare costs are rising, we need to take advantage of every edge we can to get people healthier quicker and with less cost.
What a better way to start than with the language that’s being used in the healthcare setting?
Co-creating a better healthcare system starts with this post.
What are some of your ideas for changing the words we use?
I was turned on to this video from a friend and wanted to share it with you. An amazing step in the direction of creating a means to test drugs and treatments, without animals, and perhaps some day, with the patient’s own cells. What I find particularly cool is the prospect of linking multiple versions of these together and modelling more complex systems.
The above scene is from the home of a person who has some pretty serious lung problems. This equipment is sitting next to the front door. This is what the inhabitants of the house see every day.
It’s what guests see when they come in – when they sit down to play cards on a Friday Evening.
It’s the last thing people see as they leave the house.
It also epitomizes what’s wrong with healthcare, what’s wrong with a system that is about fixing things gone bad; about drugs, compliance, tests, equipment, data, insurance, doctors and hospitals.
Oh sure it works, but there is general agreement that it could be better – way better.
So it got me to thinking: What would a better designed healthcare system look like?
Instead of trying to visualize every detail of what revamped healthcare might look like, let’s look at Dieter Rams‘ ’10 principles of good design’ (applied to healthcare) to inform our creative processes.
GOOD HEALTHCARE DESIGN…
Is innovative – What is really innovative in the above picture? The technology is decades old. However, it’s not only innovative technology that’s needed, but innovative approaches to problems.
Is useful - By and large, people go to doctors and interact with healthcare systems because they need to – not because they want to. Using innovative approaches (See above), there needs to be an element of usefulness that pulls people in to being healthier.
Is aesthetic – The rooster in the above picture has more going for it than the rest of the products. Things that are aesthetically pleasing pull people in, making people touch, explore, even showcase! A doctor once remarked how he loved using a certain product because the packaging was cool.
Conveys understandability - What’s understandable in the above picture? In a perfectly designed world, instruction booklets wouldn’t be needed. Intuitiveness would reign. The How’s and Why’s are conveyed via the design itself.
Is unobtrusive – In healthcare this is huge. When it comes down to it, people don’t want reminders of health problems, or hospital payments, present at all in their lives, let alone being obvious. Being healthy and interacting with healthcare should have a certain transparency and utility – it’s flexible enough to do what needs to be done with minimal fuss and muss.
Is honest – Many objects and systems in healthcare, even those in the above picture, are brutally honest. But honest healthcare needs to be seen in light of the other principles of good design. It needs to be true to itself in that people need to know that certain interactions result in certain results.
Is long-lasting - Health care is about long-lasting results. It shouldn’t be about ‘trendy’. It should be about results that last.
Is thorough down to the last detail – It’s obvious that in the healthcare realm, detail is paramount. There shouldn’t be arbitrariness.
Is environmentally friendly – There’s a lot of room for improvement in healthcare, especially in the US. Paperwork, drug and waste disposal, visual pollution (See picture above,) sustainable and yet disposable products, all these are challenges that only now, are beginning to be addressed.
Is as little design as possible - It comes down to providing what’s essential to do the job, nothing more, nothing less. This is related to being unobtrusive and detailed. On a systems level this is particularly difficult to address because of organizational tendencies to make sure arses are covered. The good news is that if all the above principles are used, the need to cover arses should all but disappear.
Is it possible to design healthcare according to the above principles? With current healthcare systems being stressed to the point of breaking, a redesign of the various facets of healthcare systems is not only possible but sorely needed. While people are trying to live their lives as abundantly and authentically as possible, their interactions with clinicians and health care systems are a fertile ground for innovation. Rams’ 10 principles for good design are as good a place to start as any.
What do the U.S. healthcare delivery system and The Cheesecake Factory have in common?
According to Dr. Atul Gawande, potentially a great deal. The Dr. recently penned an article over at The New Yorker called, “Big Med.” Inspired by his experience at The Cheesecake Factory (TCF), he wondered if perhaps there weren’t some way that the system at The Cheesecake Factory could be used as a pattern for US healthcare delivery. After all, TCF delivers millions of meals in a cost-effective and profitable manner – why couldn’t the healthcare system treat millions of people in a cost-effective and profitable manner?
The Dr. shares that, indeed, there are already some clinicians implementing TCF-esque solutions. While the Dr. doesn’t bring it up, this article over at The Economist, highlights how healthcare delivery is undergoing innovation in India - reflecting in many ways, Dr. Gawande’s TCF inspired vision.
In response, Steve Denning at Forbes, wrote an article entitled: “How Not to Fix US Healthcare: Copy The Cheesecake Factory.” Mr. Denning thought that Dr. Gawande was way off base using The Cheesecake Factory as a pattern. He cited Innovation Scholar, Clayton Christensen, and then claimed that Dr. Gawande’s argument is flawed in these ways:
1.Wrong question
2.Wrong knowledge model
3.Wrong management model
4.Wrong conclusions about scaling
In actuality the above discussion is both/and vs. either/or. When trying to come up with truly innovative solutions, the goal is to take two or more ideas/metaphors, slam them together, and see what comes out of the mix.
Personally, I think Dr. Gawande’s perspective is highly provocative and has something going for it. His thinking isn’t ‘pie in the sky.’ There is, as the Dr. demonstrates, plenty of room for standardization and better management of spending/costs without sacrificing care. Precisely because the TCF model is, on first blush, so different from the healthcare world and yet similar with regards to servicing millions in a cost-effective, profitable manner, that we will benefit greatly from creating a synthesis between healthcare delivery and what goes on in The Cheesecake Factory.
We should smash the TCF metaphor up against current healthcare practices and see what comes out of it. That’s where great innovation will come from! After all, the Cheesecake Factory IS successful and is doing something right. Many healthcare institutions in India ARE doing something right. The doctors in Dr. Gawande’s article ARE doing something right, saving money and improving outcomes. There’s got to be something we can learn, be inspired by, and perhaps implement and test, when metaphors dance into a tertium quid.
It doesn’t further discussions, and in fact limits solutions, to caricature Dr. Gawande’s insights. Instead of claiming, as Mr. Denning did, that everything is “wrong” with Dr. Gawande’s vision, the discussion would be furthered by full-hearted listening, combining of metaphor, and dreaming of what can be.
I think the discussion would be even better if done over a meal at The Cheesecake Factory.
Texting is everywhere. Which got me to thinking: Wouldn’t it be great if there was an app that would leverage SMS to help people support each other in their quests to improve?
Need to lose weight? Get this app. Need to stop smoking? Try this app. Want to do a better job of conserving energy or recycling? This is the app for you and your friends.
But then I thought, “Why bother with an app?” Everything needed to make a virtual support group already exists on our mobile phones. All that is needed are friends, common goals, passion, and a little know-how.
I assume you have the first three. Here’s the how:
Build the Group
1. – What type of people should be in your virtual group?
They share concern for the issue you’re working on. In fact, it should be a passionate concern!
They’re within 100 miles (This isn’t necessary, but it’s always a plus if you can sometimes meet in person!)
You trust these people implicitly, and they trust you!
2.- Group size should be between 2 to 10 people. You can have more but the goal is to support each other. More than 10 and things could get quite unwieldy. Small groups are better for this.
3. - Once you and your friends are committed to this journey, make sure you have each other’s phone numbers.
4. – Create a Group out of your friends’ numbers. This is so you can text everyone at once. Oh sure, you can text the individual people one at a time, but the true power of finding and giving support, lies in the ability to contact everyone at once and the easier this is to do, the better. If you need help doing this you can check out the following references based upon the phone type:
5. – It may be worthwhile to write, and store, various ’pre-written’ messages (for example: “I’m feeling weak and really want to eat this!”, “I did it!! I resisted!” or “Just finished exercising – feel gr8!”) But be careful. Correspondence should be authentic and heartfelt. Don’t overuse pre-canned messages!
Working Together…
6, – Now that your group is built, contact each other, via text, at key moments. Here are some examples of times when sharing would be apropos:
Challenges. When someone in the group feels the urge to eat more than he/she should, or the wrong type of food, or doesn’t feel like exercising, grab one of the pre-written texts, or write one on the spot, and send it to the group.
Successes. If you’ve just resisted that cigarette, or resisted the “Ice Cream Brownie Fudge Surprise!” share it.
Did you sneak something from the fridge in the middle of the night? Share it. You need to be open with each other. Remember, you’re in this together to improve not to judge. (No judging!!)
Come across an article, quote or event that might help you all reach your goals? Send it out!
7. – The group’s reason for existence is to support each other. You are committed to each other. When a text comes from someone in the group, respond. Help each other out. Cheer each other on! It’s the feedback and interaction that will help people meet their goals and grow.
8. – If distance permits, get together in person to touch base, see each other, and smile (or cry). You’re in this together, and you’ll succeed together.
That’s all there is to it!
And remember, this is more than just about weight loss. It’s about helping each other grow and be more!
Please let me know how this goes, or if you meet any specific challenges. I’m especially looking forward to hearing how else this could be applied..
Good luck!!
Disclaimer: Any healthcare information is not a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment for specific medical conditions. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care providers with any questions that you may have regarding a specific medical condition. Never disregard medical advice or delay in seeking medical advice or treatment because of something you have read on this site.
One of my favorite TV shows is Fringe. It’s tale of parallel universes and the FBI’s, Fringe Division team, and their fight against inter-dimensional, and/or high technology crime.
The whole concept of the fringe, is a loaded one. It is the place where the familiar feathers into unfamiliarity; where rules change and people must innovate and use technology creatively, simply to survive. It’s the place of exile, the place of wonder and mystery. Fringes are fragile – they fray. They give the appearance of solidness but only until one touches them. Then, they become ethereal webs that elicit unsure steps of probing instead of the surefooted steps of conviction.
The TV show depicts these fringe events as truly out of the ordinary.
The truth is, fringe events are around us everywhere. When I buy a drink for someone at a bar and hand it off, that moment when I’m letting go and the person is receiving, is a type of fringe event. When I click on a link and wait for the next screen to reveal itself, that is a fringe moment. These exchanges of objects, states and information, facilitated by the interaction of two people (or at least a person and an object), are fringe moments.
Oh sure, they’re not rips in the space-time continuum, but they are moments when everything hangs in a balance of ‘what-ifs?’.
They are also moments ripe for creative innovation. They are the moments when improv actors can create brilliance or grey. They are the moments when health care providers can seamlessly transfer information and improve healthcare, or they can be moments of confusion – planting the seeds for future accidents.
In order to innovate in the fringe, it requires that we understand, and design for, what each person, or object is expecting to give and get. There are two universes present on either side of the fringe event, each with its own rules. The operating laws of these universes need to be accurately ascertained in order to design appropriately and creatively. Oh sure, we can assume what each party wants, but to really create magic, we need to know the local laws of interaction and provide an environment for synergy.
If we commit ourselves to the study of the moment – if we seek to understand the objects, interactions and suppositions that brought about that moment – we innovate from the fringe and in so doing, for the people and objects creating the fringe moment. We become crafters of portals – doorways through which experience and objects pass.
Let’s not take this task lightly. Whether professional or amateur:
We really do have it in our power to shape experiences in the universe.
It was a typical physical. The basic tests, some questions, some ‘turn your head and cough’-ing, a blood draw and the removal of a dime-sized, spherical cyst from my right shoulder.
As usual, the prep for the appointment included a fast from midnight. This isn’t usually a big deal, except that I had the latest possible appointment that morning.
Everything went well. Even the cyst removal. It wasn’t particularly painful, but the area was effectively numbed up prior to the mini-surgery. That was, no doubt, a good thing, as the cyst went deeper into the skin than one would think, based upon its size. The doctor’s skillful excision left a clean, but surprisingly large, ‘glass marble sized’ crater on my shoulder.
After I was bandaged, I turned my head and started to get up. I was instantly greeted by a flurry of starry, firefly like speckles that twinkled for a few moments then faded.
“Whoa…stars,” I said. It had caught me by surprise.
The doctor steadied me and I stepped down off the table. “I’ll have my nurse give you something to help that,” he said,
As I was leaving the office, she handed me my prescription. A coupon for a free bagel at the bakery next door.
I smiled, left, and visited the doctor’s neighbor.
“This is the coolest idea, EVER!” I thought to myself as I munched on a toasted bagel, slathered with honey-walnut cheese.
My shoulder wound was beginning to get sore, but it didn’t matter. The crunchy, creamy-ness filled the 12 hour fasting void in my stomach, perfectly.
In the moment, I had thought the free bagel coupon was a sacred talisman, of which I was the sole possessor. The uninitiated would never taste the nectar of honey and walnut as I was able…
Only…
I wasn’t the only one to get a coupon. In fact, all my doctor’s patients who had to fast the day before their appointments, received a ‘get a free bagel’ coupon.
This was brilliance – Pure and simple.
It also wasn’t the doctor’s brainchild. It was the bakery owner’s! (Though the good doctor did know a good idea when he saw it, and acted upon it.) He proposed providing coupons for the doc’s prepping, fasting patients. In the end, he not only benefitted from letting people try his bagels, he received remuneration for the drinks that I’m sure others, like myself, purchased as a sidecar to the bagel. Yet, he wasn’t the one in the limelight as far as I was concerned. I was indebted to the doctor who thought enough of me to feed me when I was hungry (and smarting!).
I think about this little, customer service based, sleight of hand often. It was a brilliant tactic that paid off in spades. I respected my doc even more after that day, and the bagel baking prowess of his neighbor as well. There are many lessons to glean from this experience, but the one that I personally come back to is this: The positive vibes I felt from that physical didn’t come from anything the doctor did, from a medical point of view, during my visit. It had everything to do with the simple, person-centered action that occurred after the physical was finished.
…Communication is two-sided – vital and profound communication makes demands also on those who are to receive it… demands in the sense of concentration, of genuine effort to receive what is being communicated. – Roger Sessions
The Joint Commission says over 70 percent of sentinel events — sentinel events are unexpected outcomes, death or injuries — over 70 percent are due to breakdown in communication, That’s a huge deal. – Sorrel King, Founder of Josie King Foundation
We know that when patients and clinicians communicate well, care is better. But in today’s fast-paced health care system, good communication isn’t always the norm. This campaign reminds us all that effective communication between patients and their health care team is important and that it is possible – even when time is limited. – AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D.
Communication – real, deep communication- seems difficult enough when two people are healthy and have all the time in the world to share.
Now put those two people in a doctor’s office, make one a doctor and the other sick and communication becomes even more difficult. And, if the quality of communication goes down, the quality of healthcare is not too far behind.
To help keep the level of communication high, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has begun an initiative to foster more effective communication between patients and clinicians. One aspect of the initiative emphasizes the importance of asking questions. People ask all types of questions when buying a cellphone, why not when dealing with their health? The AHRQ provides videos of both patients and clinicians, highlighting the importance of asking questions and being prepared for the doctor visit.
With regards to being prepared for the doc visit, Dr. Oz provides a great one-sheet (it’s pictured at the beginning of this blog entry – click on it to get a copy) that helps women if they think they may have ovarian cancer. What about if you have other problems?
Write the symptoms down- draw pictures showing where it hurts! Make your own list of problems and things to ask.
“The process of drawing is, before all else, the process of putting the visual intelligence into action, the very mechanics of visual thought. Unlike painting and sculpture it is the process by which the artist makes clear to himself, and not to the spectator, what he is doing. It is a soliloquy before it becomes communication. – Michael Ayrton
Ayerton’s quote is very apropos. When we write and draw, we make things clear to ourselves. When things are clear we are able to articulate them better to others, and this improves the quality of communication- that is, if someone is listening.
I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant. – Robert McCloskey
Listening is more than understanding what the other person is saying. Listening, truly listening, affirms the one speaking. When we listen to others, those people feel valued for who they are; it builds trust. It shows that we respect those people, that we value their stories, their dreams, where they’re going and where they’ve been.
Maybe it’s not that innovative, but it’s what healthcare is all about, isn’t it?
*****Postscript*****
I have an appointment with my orthopedic surgeon tomorrow, the 28th, and while in the shower thought of a couple of things that I hadn’t before with regards to how my leg is healing. I’ve written it all down in my phone so I don’t miss anything in the morning (I wrote this blog on the evening of the 27th). It’s actually a relief not having to expend energy forcing myself to remember what to say tomorrow.
Came across this article about how current measures aren’t addressing wrong site surgeries as much as hoped. So it got me to thinking that perhaps something like the below solution could be used to help minimize these adverse events. The patient’s bar code is scanned and the surgery team is presented with the preferred orientation of the patient for that surgery, and the location of the surgery on the patient. Three people, including the surgeon, have to cross-check the patient with the information presented. When all check boxes are filled, the surgery can proceed and hopefully at the proper site.
