What keeps me up at night?
Not the headlines. Not the spin. Not the noise.
What keeps me up is the divisiveness in the dialogue around health care.
It’s easy to fixate on worst case or “what-if” scenarios. But staying grounded in positive outcomes can illuminate the next best step toward viable solutions.
Here are a few reflections on how we might navigate these uncertain, but promising, times:
- Speak Up: If you can offer thoughtful, practical solutions – do it. With colleagues, partners, staff, decision-makers, and customers. There is no such thing as a passive leader. Silence, especially from those in a position to influence change, is a choice – and often a costly one.
- Stop Spreading the News: Is what you are hearing, or sharing, true? Are you sure? When information stirs fear or panic, sharing it can do harm. Pause. Consider the source. Ask questions. Discern before you disseminate.
- When in Doubt, Go Direct: Too often, we circle around problems instead of addressing them head on. Avoiding hard conversations – about priorities, time, money values – only adds confusion. Clarity lives in directness and active listening. Dancing around what matters can block progress.
- Details Matter, and So Does Data: In healthcare, it’s tempting to cling to the familiar. Be willing to explore what’s new, with new partners, in new ways. Precision matters, but so does an open mind.
- Power Isn’t Neutral. Tech tools, AI, interoperability are only as impactful as the policies and purpose behind them. Who designs them, and why, matters.
- Regulation is Not the Enemy: Smart policy can unlock data and build trust, especially if we stop seeing compliance as a nuisance and start using it as a (helpful) tool.
- Don’t Quit: This work is hard, messy, and essential. Patients, providers, payors, and policymakers face real hurdles. Progress requires strong conviction and decisive action.
- Technology Helps, But It’s Not a Cure-All: Yes, it can drive efficiency and outcomes. But we must acknowledge the human emotions – fear, stress, anxiety, burnout, frustration – that dominate many clinical settings. No tool can override the lived experience of burdened or flawed systems.
- There is No One-Size-Fits-All: Treatment for chronic conditions, prevention, and pharmaceuticals all have their place. We need space for both traditional and non-traditional approaches. As a patient, I’ve lived both. And I know what is possible when care is well coordinated.
Most of us are here because we care – because we want what’s best for ourselves, our families and all patients.
So, I leave you with this: Stay focused. Stay honest. Build policies, products, and solutions that serve. And above all, work towards finding solutions not to disrupt, but to heal.
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Ryan Dempsey is a healthcare and technology strategist and change management expert who specializes in artificial intelligence, data modernization and public-private collaboration. She previously served as Deputy Director of Technology in the Assistant Secretary of Technology Policy and Deputy Director of Product & Technology at the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention within the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Ryan is founder of the advisory firm, the Royal Way and can be reached at: ryan@theroyalway.com
