HealthCamp SFBay

If you want to witness the power of innovation, I recommend you check out a user-generated or Open Space unconference. I recently attended my first – HealthCamp San Diego – and can attest that something magical happens when you get health care giants in the same room as entrepreneurs, innovators, technology experts, doctors, nurses and patients. From the first minute, titles were discarded and we became a room full of bright, energetic people freely collaborating. Our diverse backgrounds enhanced the conversations and were an impetus for innovation.

An “unconference” breaks out of the traditional, planned-months-in-advance trade shows and conferences to which many of us, especially in medicine, are accustomed. There is no agenda, no product booths and few PowerPoint presentations. Relying heavily on social media tools, the unconference format is designed to foster true networking, peer-to-peer learning, collaboration and creativity. Much of the HealthCamp content is focused on how social media, open source and the best of the Internet can enable better health outcomes, such as better care, increased access or reduced cost.

Last week’s HealthCamp San Diego unconference, held in coordination with the mHealth Networking Conference , was sponsored by my employer, Kaiser Permanente, as well as Health 2.0, Gary and Mary West Wireless Health Institute, San Diego Pacific Oncology and Hematology Associates, Presidiohealth,TBD Consulting, and Kony Solutions.

The unconference format solicits session and presentation suggestions in advance. A wiki dedicated to shaping the day showed speakers from the Scripps Health, Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and University of California San Diego proposing a range of on topics including mobile health, process innovations, and healthcare in social media that will shape the future of the health care industry. As a San Diego-based physician fascinated with the ways that the Web can enhance doctor-patient communication and improve care, one of the most exciting aspects for me was to see health leaders from Sharp Healthcare, Scripps Health, UCSD, and Kaiser Permanente in the same room for the first time, spending the day discussing future of health care and health care innovation.

Initially I was skeptical: without an agenda, I didn’t know how I was going to fill eight hours. Yet as the topic board (the on-the-fly agenda of participant-led discussions) developed, I realized there were more good sessions than time to see. The health care industry, because it is heavily regulated and can touch on sensitive personal health information, has been slower to adopt Web 2.0 tools than other industries. But bringing technology, innovation and care experts together in this format sparked hundreds of conversations including how physicians can use Facebook, how cloud computing and open source will impact mobile health, and how cool tech apps can turn your phone into a microscope or remind you to take your medication. Additionally, with all the bio and pharma companies in San Diego and powerful integrated care delivery systems here, there was enormous local talent present. I learned something valuable at each session and, because of the open format, made new connections at each.

At an unconference, you do not spend time studying the event center map trying to figure out the location of sessions for which you pre-registered months ago. Unconferences are meant to be free-flowing and allow you to move from group to group and follow your passion. I attended sessions on location-based social networking and protecting patient privacy online, and was amazed at how this organized chaos allowed people from all different backgrounds to connect on the specific topics that were of most interest to them – it was like online social networking, except in real life. I had coffee with a mobile device executive, connected with ER and oncology physicians, and had lunch with application developers from China. And because of the online content – live Twitter streams and links to online content – we were engaging and getting questions from around the US, and UK, and were able to ask them to the speakers and groups in the room for real-time feedback and collaboration. Our Twitter stream even made the #hcsd10 a trending topic in the region. It was an incredible way to spontaneously engage and innovate around the exciting topics we were discussing throughout the day.

Most gratifying is that out of this action-packed day, there is a still a commitment to metrics, results and follow-up. Every session leader and group will be delivering a report in the next three to four weeks after the event. Everyone there on that day and after the event is working together on plans and projects that will directly impact the future of health care for the next two to five years.

As Mike Kirkwood, one of the organizers of HealthCamp says, “The thing I love about HealthCamp is the reaction at the end of the day, when though leaders across industries report back that they have made progress on their idea, with new people, in a short amount of time. HealthCamp moves ideas into action – though rich dialog in a quick fashion.”

While walking to my last session, a CEO of an IT start-up stopped me to say how impressed he was at the innovation happening at Kaiser Permanente. Listening to him and to discussions from executives from cutting-edge industries, I was prouder than ever to be associated with an organization so committed to accelerating innovation in the health care industry and figuring out the best way to deliver patient-centric care. In fact, Kaiser Permanente is joining with Cisco and Sprint to sponsor another HealthCamp on October 6 in the San Francisco Bay Area. I look forward to collaborating in person and online with all of the participants and would encourage innovators across industries to jump at the next chance they have to attend and participate in an “unconference.”

Jeff Benabio, M.D., is a dermatologist with Kaiser Permanente in San Diego, and a social media and innovation junkie. He can be found on Twitter @dermdoc.

I have to say that I’m pretty proud of how well HealthCamp SFBay turned out!  After months of planning, the volunteer team kept the 200+ attendees on schedule while the many industry thought leaders contributed their insights to an open and vibrant discussion!

Right around the corner, and just in time, the HealthCamp volunteer team had a full day working on getting ready.

The amazing staff and team at Kaiser Permanente and Health 2.0 Accelerator made it seem easy.  The Garfield Innovation Center (@KPGarfield) is ready for HealthCampSFBay.  

At the end of our day, the key last piece comes together, Mark Scrimshire with the tape, Danielle Cass with the twitter.

Paper, pen.  Locked, loaded.

HealthCampSFBay 2009 is lucky to have an unconference icon, Kaliya Hamlin (aka IdentityWoman) to help use Open Space to it’s greatest utility.   Some advice from the document “Unconferencing” at www.unconference.net 

Advice for everyone at unconference… 

• Go with the flow – This event is intended to help you and all the other grantees find the time and space to talk with and learn from each other.  
• Follow your passion – Go to the sessions that interest you. 
• Take responsibility for your own learning – If there are topics you are really interested in that don’t appear on the agenda at first, you need to put them on there. 

 

Download full document below and be ready to hold a session at HealthCampSFBay #hcsfbay

8:20, 8:50, 9:20 San Leandro BART shuttle pick-up
9:00-9:45 Garfield Center tour (pre-registration only, an email was sent earlier this week with confirmation information)
10:00-10:15 Intros
10:15-10:45 Inspiring Sponsors:
Dr. Robert Pearl, Kaiser Permanente
Dr. Kaveh Safavi, Cisco
Patricia Perry, Intel
10:45-11:15 Post topics
11:15-12:15 Session 1
12:15-12:55 LUNCH!!!
1:00-1:55 Session 2
2:00-2:55 Session 3
3:00-3:55 Session 4
4:00-4:30 Wrap-up & Social hour
4:00, 4:30, 5:00 San Leandro BART shuttle drop-off

We are only a few days out from the most exciting healthcare innovation unconference of the year – HealthCamp!!! A lot of organization and planning has gone into this event and we would like to recognize our sponsors for their generous support! Kaiser Permanente donated their space at their Garfield Innovation Center and both Cisco and Intel contributed at the Innovator level.

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We would also like to recognize the ongoing support we have received from Health 2.0 and the Health 2.0 Accelerator.

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We could not have pulled this off without the continued support of our Supporter Level sponsors:

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Patricia N. Perry is vice president of the Digital Health Group and director of Product Delivery at Intel Corporation. She is responsible for customer and in-home patient deployment of purpose-built telehealth solutions, including regulated medical devices. In addition, she is chartered with product distribution, supply chain management and manufacturing of Intel’s Digital Health products and solutions. Prior to Director of Product Delivery, Perry was General Manager of Healthcare Information Technology. Perry joined Intel in 1983.

Previously, Perry has served in a variety of management positions in marketing, eBusiness and business planning. Perry also held several positions in the Sales and Marking Group, including director of Customer Business Solutions, manager of Internet Marketing and eCommerce applications, manager of worldwide training and field productivity and corporate accounts manager.

Prior to joining Intel, Perry was a product marketing engineer in the Linear Integrated Circuits division at Fairchild Semiconductor.

Perry received her bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin in 1974. She received her master’s degree from Santa Clara University in 1981.

Dr. Robert Pearl is Executive Director and CEO of The Permanente Medical Group.

As CEO of the largest medical group in the nation, Dr. Pearl is responsible for the health care of over 3 million Kaiser Permanente members. The Permanente Medical Group is comprised of over 6,000 physicians and 25,000 staff members and operates 19 medical centers in Northern California. He was selected as Executive Director and CEO of The Permanente Medical Group in 1998. In addition, he is the President and CEO of the MidAtlantic Permanente Medical Group which serves 500,000 members in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Board certified in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Dr. Pearl received his MD from Yale University School of Medicine. He completed his residency in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Stanford University and currently serves on the faculty as a Clinical Professor of Plastic Surgery. In addition, he is on the faculty of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and teaches courses on strategic thinking and strategic change.

Selected by Modern Healthcare as one of the most powerful physician-leaders in the nation, Dr. Pearl has published more than 100 articles in various medical journals and has been a contributor to many books. He has made over 75 presentations at national meetings in the areas of both clinical medicine and medical economics. In the past several years, he served as a visiting professor at Duke University School of Medicine, Haas School of Business and Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Pearl was a featured speaker at the 2006 World Health Care Congress and addressed the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco in 2003.

As a frequent lecturer on health care, Dr. Pearl is an advocate for the power of physician-led, integrated medical delivery systems. He believes that organizations like Kaiser Permanente in which physicians collaborate rather than compete, and in which a multi-specialty medical group works in partnership with a not-for-profit health plan and hospital system, are able to provide superior quality of care over fragmented insurance-based systems.

Over the past decade, he has been a leader in implementing advanced information technology systems across Kaiser Permanente. By combining an integrated delivery system with Internet technology he believes that Kaiser Permanente is uniquely positioned to redefine the practice of medicine as we know it today and develop the health care solutions for the 21st century.

Dr. Safavi will take a few moments in the morning to kick-off the un-conference and share his unique perspectives on innovation.

His biography

What drives a talented young physician to dedicate himself to the taxing demands of medical practice during the day, while pursuing a law degree at night?
After succeeding in both of these all-consuming programs, what motivates that same individual to take on professional assignments that tackle some of the thorniest issues facing the healthcare industry today, from complex policy and legislation to cultural barriers that can impede the adoption of beneficial new medical practices?
If you are Kaveh Safavi—the answer is simple: the patient.
As Safavi sees it, the locus of power in healthcare historically has been with the healthcare providers, rather than with the healthcare customers. But Safavi believes we are at a tipping point, where the patient and his or her needs will drive the provision and delivery of healthcare.
That passion for improving patient care ultimately brought Safavi to Cisco, where he serves as vice president of the Global Healthcare Practice, Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG)—the company’s global, strategic consulting arm. The Healthcare Practice helps leaders in the healthcare and life sciences industries transform the way that their organizations design and deliver healthcare to customers.
In other words, Safavi and Cisco are tapping technology—Cisco technologies in particular—to tip the balance of power in favor of the patient. In doing so, providers, payers and clinicians benefit, too, from enhanced productivity, reduced costs, and new revenue streams and better patient loyalty.

In many ways, Safavi believes that the future of healthcare is already here—if one knows where to look. As an evangelist for healthcare transformation, Safavi and team seed innovative solutions around the world and across the healthcare ecosystem, from life sciences, to payers, clinicians, and hospitals. Recent examples include:

• The most qualified medical specialist for any given condition could be a world away from a needy patient. The innovative Cisco HealthPresence concept combines state-of-the-art video, audio, diagnostic and medical information to create an environment similar to what most people experience when they visit their doctor or health specialist. HealthPresence creates a live, “face-to-face visit” experience over the network for clinicians and patients. Safavi’s team developed the concept and is leading Cisco HealthPresence pilots in medical facilities globally, providing improved access to care and convenience for both patients and healthcare professionals.

• The latest mobility solutions can radically transform “bedside care” by moving critical information out of file cabinets and other antiquated systems and into the hands of clinicians and doctors. At a rural Australian health network, Safavi and his team helped the Queensland government use mobile devices and the network to diagnose patients’ conditions faster and better at the bedside. The results are improvements in productivity and staff satisfaction to, most important, the quality of care.

• Experimenting in virtual worlds such as Second Life, Cisco IBSG is teaming with healthcare leaders to simulate improved patient and provider experiences through new communications technology. For example, Cisco created “Hallie,” a virtual assistant that demonstrates how hospitals of the future can help patients with nonmedical details—such as family accommodations and travel advice—surrounding their physical and virtual hospital visits.

• In a multilingual global society, language barriers can compromise doctor-patient communication and, therefore, the quality of treatment. Centers such as the Health Care Interpreter Network (HCIN) of Northern California are using Cisco video and voice-over-IP technology to provide nearly 400 hos¬pital staff with rapid access to trained interpreters. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is improving patient satisfaction, quality of care, and the productivity of medical staff.
Safavi has published numerous papers and articles. He is quoted frequently in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Economist. Safavi speaks about his passion for healthcare transformation at more than 50 engagements annually worldwide.

Prior to Cisco, Safavi was chief medical officer for the healthcare business of Thomson Reuters, where he established the Center for Healthcare Improvement and led the 100 Top Hospital program. In the early 1990s, Safavi was president and medical director of HealthSpring Medical Group of Illinois. There, he developed a Physician Practice Management business with a fully automated electronic medical record system. He is board-certified in internal medicine and pediatrics. His clinical experience includes four years at the University of Michigan Medical Center, Internal Medicine and Pediatric Residency Program.