Mighty Casey Media: Comedy Health Analyst

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Women in Business

Help us, IBM-Dell-Apple. You’re our only hope.

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I’ve been on the road a lot over the last six months, getting the chance to interact with (and, I hope, influence), audiences in health tech and health policy. There’s so much desire for change, search for innovation, and just straight up “desperately seeking [something]” out there, it’s almost hilarious that no real change/shift/what-have-you has yet occurred in the giant $3-trillion/year-and-rising sucking sound that is the American healthcare system.

Which is why I concluded, long ago, that the system would not be re-invented from within, particularly when it comes to the tech side of the party. Since the medical-industrial complex is keeping the fax machine manufacturers of the universe in business, it’s hard not to snort with laughter at tech “innovations” that emerge from inside the complex’s ivory towers.

Tech innovation – on both the consumer and the system side – will come from companies with a proven history of delighting ground-level customers. The ones I like to call “people.” Here’s a Casey-ism that will be appearing in a new report on tech in healthcare from The Beryl Institute:

“My sense about technology, and whether it’s engagement or system improvement or anything in this zone, I think that the change is going to come from outside the healthcare industry. The solutions are going to be delivered by companies or entities that have a history of putting technology in the hands of consumers (people) and having those consumers (people) say ‘awesome!’ and just start using it.”

I don’t think anyone – consumer or clinician – has touched anything related to Electronic Health Records (EHR) tech and said anything resembling “awesome” about the experience.

ehr-no-one-ever

We, as a nation, have thrown $30+ billion at getting our healthcare delivery system into the 21st century, but have so far only seen it get to the point where it’s partying like it’s 1995 (Windows 95 – it’s AWESOME! Not.). Data exchange, a/k/a “interop,” is still a distant dream, which is why I have a QR code tattooed on my sternum as a political statement. “I am my own HIE,” essentially.

What we need here is a “1984” moment in healthcare. Not the George Orwell book, but the Mac computer ad that ran on Jan. 22, 1984 during the third quarter of the Super Bowl.

Epic Systems won’t deliver it. As much as Jonathan Bush would like athenahealth to deliver it … nope. Our “Obi Wan only hope” is going to have to come from a company that’s got a track record – distant or current – of delivering into the hands of consumers easy-to-use tech that has them saying “awesome!” and then … just using it.

ibm-dell-apple-3-way
“Help us, IBM-Dell-Apple. You’re our only hope.”

Which is why I’m saying “help us, IBM-Dell-Apple, you’re our only hope.” I’m not including Google, because they’ve already tried/failed, with GoogleHealth, and then (IMO, stupidly) abandoned the healthcare vertical after one play.

IBM might seem like an odd player to include here, but I know what they’re up to at the Serious Games lab at UNC under gamer-grrl extraordinaire Phaedra Boinodoris. (The Medical Minecraft project is of particular note there.)

Dell is in the personalized-medicine space, particularly in pediatric cancer, where they’ve built the Neuroblastoma and Medulloblastoma Translational Research Consortium (NMTRC) as a tumor board tool across 25 universities and children’s hospitals looking to build some real precision medicine/faster cures to fight children’s brain cancer.

Apple is the only player to serve up an actual consumer device with health apps – the iWatch and the ResearchKit, which turns an iPhone into a research contribution engine for a variety of projects looking at conditions from autism to breast cancer to Parkinson’s disease.

People, consumers, are ready (desperate?) to engage with the healthcare system using the same digital tools they use daily to manage everything from soccer practice to shopping lists to banking: their smartphones. The challenge to the healthcare system is to make tools to make that possible … which they have utterly failed to do, to date.

It’s time to hand the problem to proven consumer-delighters.

“Help us, IBM-Dell-Apple. You’re our only hope.”

What’s in a Bowl of Rice?

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This is a guest post by Patricia Dean-Escoto, a nutrition coach and consultant who learned, in her own cancer journey, the impact of food on cancer prevention – she’s got a new Android app, My Breast Cancer Advocate, that’s available in the Google Play store. 

bowl of rice imageThe other day I was visiting with a good friend of the family. She had just flown in from Nigeria for a three-week stay and had come to Delaware to stay for a while. We got on the topic of the poor in countries like Africa, the commercials you see for helping to feed them, and reality of what donated money really supplies in the way of actual meals.

My sister asked her what a dollar a day would actually do. The answer was just what you see on the TV.  A dollar would feed them a bowl of rice, maybe three times a day. This bowl of rice would not contain any vegetables, nor would it have any source of protein like beef or chicken. For that, you would need to be in the range of $3 per meal.

We see these images of starving children, eating just that, a simple bowl of rice. Unfortunately, these types of ads give you the impression that the bowl of rice you see that small child eating can save their lives.  It gives them not only nourishment, but hope.

Fast-forward to an article I came across in the New York Times while traveling to my conference in Tucson a couple of days later.  The article was about, wouldn’t you know it, rice!  But, it wasn’t one of hope, nor of nourishment.  In fact, it was just the opposite.

According to recent studies, rice, in addition to being a simple carbohydrate that easily breaks down to glucose in the bloodstream, which can have an impact on your blood sugar levels, rice seems to also be a magnet for heavy metals. It has that special gift, courtesy of the way it’s grown, to attract things like cadmium, mercury, and specifically arsenic to it. We’re talking about rice – one of the most widely consumed foods in the world (and, oh, by the way, one of my husband’s favorite things to eat).

Yet, according to new research from Consumer Reports, consuming rice, even once a day, can increase arsenic levels in the body by up to 44 percent.

Where Rice can be Found

image of foods containing riceToday, rice can be found in everything from cereal to energy bars, and even baby food. In fact, because of the recent concern about gluten and gluten intolerance, rice is also becoming one of the main substitutions in a gluten-free diet for baking your favorite waffles, cookies, and cakes.

And, for all of you who say, ‘I’ll just switch to brown rice.’ It doesn’t get any better. Surprisingly, brown rice is even worse because the metals accumulate in the bran or husk and is not washed away during the bleaching process that normally accompanies the production of white rice.

In fact, according to the New York Times article, the Department of Agriculture estimates the levels of arsenic in brown rice to be 10 times higher than what is found in white rice.

Exposure to arsenic can cause a host of aliments that include: Stomach ache, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, muscle weakness and cramping, and skin rashes. In addition, cadmium, and its associated effects on bones, have been well documented going as far back as the late 60’s.

Naturally, all of this made me think back to my conversation with my friend and what all this rice consumption was doing to the health of so many children who everyday receive only a bowl of rice for their nourishment. Rethinking how and what would feed the world could mean limiting our exposure to these toxic metals and limiting our exposure to rice.

Many other grains can be consumed that are more nutrient dense and cause a lower impact on our blood sugar levels. These include quinoa, barley, millet and couscous, all of which are readily sold in supermarkets.

To Your Health,

Patricia 

Patricia Dean Escoto photoPatricia Dean-Escoto is a certified nutrition consultant and breast cancer survivor.  She holds a master’s degree in education and has more than 20 years of experience working in both the field of education and healthcare.  In 2006, after being diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer, Patricia returned to school to study nutrition and completed studies at Bauman College for her certification as a nutrition consultant.    Recently, she hosted a year-long radio show called Pathways to Healing on the Voice America network where she interviewed experts in the field of health and wellness.  Patricia is author of ‘The Top Ten Superfoods for Preventing Breast Cancer’ and  creator of the My Breast Cancer Advocate app which is designed to assist those who are newly diagnosed with or recovering from breast cancer.  Her company, Pathways2healing, works exclusively with cancer patients in the area of nutrition and exercise. She lectures both locally and nationally on the topic of nutrition and cancer prevention. Connect with Patricia on Facebook, on LinkedIn, and on Twitter.

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Smokin’ deal. Brand/Social media audit. Get 2013 started right, CHEAP!

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smoking hot stuff
make your brand smokin’ hot!

It’s almost 2013.

Want to set your brand storytelling on fire for the New Year?

Looking to get your branding on social media in sync and hotter than Christmas in July?

Longing to create some emotional heat in the hearts of your customers?

Here’s how you can get 2013 off to a smokin’ hot brand-storytelling start, at a bargain-basement price:

Brand / social audit deals from Mighty Casey Media!

Here’s how it works.

  • Want a brand audit? 
    • I do a full website copy review
    • You get a written report with specific suggestions on:
      • Brand story opportunities
        • Are you telling the best story possible?
        • Are there holes in your story?
      • Website copy improvements
        • Too many words?
        • Not enough words?
        • Words that don’t work?
      • Newsletter editorial calendar outline for 2013
        • Monthly and quarterly tips to increase your email newsletter’s open rate
  • Want a social media audit? 
    • I do a full social media platform review (including your company blog)
    • You get a written report with specific suggestions on:
      • Content creation/curation for the social platforms you use
        • What to share
        • Where to share it
        • Content sources that will amp up your social story-telling
      • Social platforms that could add brand engagement
        • Are there social opportunities you’re missing?
      • Blog editorial calendar outline for 2013
        • Tips for making your weekly posts eyeball magnets for your target audience

OK, I know you have a question:

How much is it?

That’s easy.

$250 each.

Want to get both?

$400 if you buy both.

(That’s a $100 savings, in case your calculator’s broken.)

The catch? There are only 10 of each available.

If you want to take advantage of this deal, here are the steps:

  • Decide you want to buy
  • Email me with your web and/or social links by Monday, December 31, 2012

That’s it!

You’ll get your written report by January 9, 2013, along with a PayPal invoice.

Simple.

So what are you waiting for?

GO!

 

Got succession planning?

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If you’re over 55, you’ve been getting junk mail for at least a few years advising you to think ahead about what will happen when you’re gone.

passing-it-onPlain-speaking version: after you’re dead.

That’s a topic that every business owner, and business leader, needs to examine closely, too. What will happen when you’re gone? When you retire, when you cash out, when you deploy whatever your exit strategy turns out to be?

A key part of that exit strategy is making sure your exit doesn’t flatten all the tires on the bus of the business. Or worse, knock the wheels right off that bus.

If you’re running a successful business, you have to think of it as part of your legacy. However, you can’t just write a will saying “everything goes to [insert heir here]” without helping that heir understand all the ins and outs of the enterprise.

Who will take care of your clients? Who will keep production running? How will business development continue?

What’s the plan, Stan?

I’m prompted to think about this topic after losing a friend too young recently. Well, he wasn’t years-young, but he was dreams-young, and that made me think that everyone – doesn’t matter if you’re 25, 35, or 75 – who is responsible for the continuing health of an organization must make a fully-fleshed succession plan to guarantee the organization doesn’t die when s/he does.

Who can you groom to take the reins? Have you drawn up the “what if?” map of how your team will move forward if you’re not there to lead them? Have you consulted with an expert who can draw you the full map of a succession plan?

Talk to other CEOs that you trust. Ask them how they built their legacy plan. If they look at you like you’re speaking Martian, talk to the law firm that represents your company. Or simply Google “succession planning” and your city, state, or ZIP code.

If you’re in the US mid-Atlantic region, you can just start here: Assura Consulting. (Full disclosure: not a client. Just folks whose expertise I trust.)

Otherwise, the terrific enterprise tree you grew from a seedling might wind up ground to pulp.

That’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it …

Mighty Mouth 5-Point Manifesto for 2012

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manifesto image
(c) 2010 AllThingsSD.com

OK, I’ll admit that it’s highly hackneyed of me to publish a manifesto on New Year’s Eve. I’m not a fan of New Year’s resolutions – who even keeps the things into February? – and this is not a set of resolutions.

My inspiration(s) for this post are vast and varied. Some are between my ears, and will remain there. External inspiration includes

This list is a line in the sand. A statement, in public, of what I will and will not allow to exist in my self, in my work, or in my proximity. Some of these have taken decades to learn. Some are very recent epiphanies. I’m not going to indicate which are which … you figure it out for yourself, on your own behalf.

#1: Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.

One of the greatest skills anyone can learn is adaptability. I learned this at my mother’s knee as a 2nd-generation Navy daughter who was the New Kid almost every year K-12. I learned how to manage rampaging nuns determined to punish children because of their own sexual frustrations, how to handle playground bullies, how to show up even when the very idea of doing so scares the shit out of you.

Adaptability is a terrific tool. Taken to excess, though, it turns into approval-seeking. Since I’ve moved from one of the biggest cities on Earth to a small city that I’ve taken to calling Jimbobwe from time to time, I’ve been guilty of hiding my ferocity somewhat. Not all the time, but often enough that I don’t think I’ve served myself, or my purpose.

I will not hide my fierce. Neither will I use it as a weapon. If someone finds me too fierce, they’re not in my crew. We’ll part amicably. Nuff said.

#2: Get paid for your expertise (I call this one “move from town slut to town whore”)

Yes, the economy sucks. Yes, Wall Street has much to answer for, as does Capitol Hill. That does not mean that you should resort to either whiny-bitchery or yessuh-massah-ry. Grow a pair and GET PAID. This is particularly true if you’re a small business owner, but it’s also true if you’re working on someone’s payroll.

If you’ve got skills, exchange them for a fair price. If you’re not getting a living dollar for your work, ask yourself why not. Are you selling the wrong thing? Is your skill-set outdated? Are you simply rolling over in order not to be seen as demanding? Make this an ongoing strategy-fest for yourself. What’s your best sell, who’s your best customer base, is it sustainable. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Grrlz, this one is particularly important for you. If you’re not willing to embrace and empower your inner bitch, you’ll be eating leftovers for the rest of your life. I’m not advising you to go all Cruella DeVille on ever’body’s ass. Just don’t turn into the people-pleasing Good Girl who always serves herself last. Therein lies fiscal starvation. Take it from one who knows.

#3: Fail forward daily

Don’t let a day go by without shaking something up, even if it’s only the space between your own ears. Don’t sit passively when something you can fix presents itself. And most definitely don’t sit there clutching something that’s broken, or that needs to be kicked to the curb.

Anchors are great if you’re a ship. If you hang one around your neck, though, there’s always the risk that it, and you, will wind up falling overboard. The anchor won’t drown. It’s a damn anchor. You, however, will be most uncomfortable. Followed quickly by the aforementioned drowning. Anchoring yourself to anything but a solid set of ethical principles is crazy.

Decide. Do. If that leads to #fail, decide to move on and live to do another day. Do NOT stick with something just because it’s safe/yours/your friend’s/the-thing-you-sunk-3-years-in. Question and assess everything, every day. If it doesn’t serve you, serve it with an eviction notice.

And speaking of eviction notices …

#4: Give fear an eviction notice

I learned this in a very direct way this year, which I will forever refer to as the Year of Living Eviction-ously.

I started the year by getting an eviction notice in late January. I freaked out, and hyperventilated my way toward finding a solution. This kept up in February, and March, and April … you’re getting the drift, aren’t you? Every month turned into Panic City. Who does their best thinking in Panic City? Certainly not me.

One plus of getting monthly eviction notices is this: you get inured (look it up) to them. I did, and stopped panicking around May. It didn’t mean I wasn’t under pressure – I most certainly was – but it did mean that I stopped freaking out and started strategizing on solutions. The net-net is that I ended the Year of Living Eviction-ously without a perfect record. No eviction notice for Christmas, and it doesn’t look like there will be one  in January. See #2 if you have any questions about a working strategy here.

#5: Trust but verify. Even when it’s yourself.

You’ve spent [however long] getting yourself to where you are today. You did not do it alone, though, did you? You had help.

There are people you’ve trusted along the way to provide you with insight and advice, to help keep you on the path, to point you in the right direction if you found yourself in the weeds.

You now know it all, right? (If you answered “yes” please stop reading. You’ve just failed the Stupid Test.)

If you think you know everything, you know nothing. You’re doomed without a kitchen cabinet of people you can trust to bitch slap you, with a 5 iron if necessary, to keep you from making a bad choice. Whether it’s a client or a mate.

Trust yourself enough to assemble that kitchen cabinet, and then vet your options with them whenever you need guidance.

That’s my Manifesto for 2012. What’s yours?

 

Raising Cain … then lowering him. 3 tips to avoid that mistake.

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Herman Cain image
photo credit: Toby Harnden|Daily Telegraph

The quadrennial silly season known as the US Presidential race has been in full cry on the Republican side for about six months now, with some highly entertaining spectacle already on display. Unfortunately, a popular favorite, Herman Cain, who had built up quite a head of steam as a leading contender, has been somewhat sidelined by accusations that have put his campaign in PR-crisis-management mode.

First, let me make it clear that I have no dog in this fight. I’m still waiting for the Logic Party to form, and meanwhile am a member of the No Labels movement – in other words, I’m apolitical outside the voting booth. Inside the voting booth, I hold my nose and do the best I can under the circumstances.

My purpose here is to point out the three simple, yet critical, steps Cain and his campaign communications team should have taken to, if not 100% avoid this epic mud-fest, at least keep it at small-mud-puddle level.

  1. Vet the candidate fully. Pretend you’re on the oppo research team of another candidate and vet the bejabbers out of your guy. Or gal. Go after anything that could possibly lurk as a Nannygate, or sexual harassment, or financial/business ethics challenge. The Cain team is steeping in a big bucket of #epicfail right now, because according to London Daily Telegraph US editor Toby Harnden, oppo research leakage was what led to the Politico piece that started this mud-fest.
  2. When you know the worst, plan the response. When you’ve got all the skeletons out of the closet and into the living room, start figuring out how to make them look less threatening. In this instance, simply putting the story out themselves would have taken much of the power of it off the table. “Allegations were made, this was the result, the candidate denies that there is any truth to them, but the decision was made at the time to settle the suit/issue/whatever” and move on. Never, ever let a big story about you get out there, unless you’re the one putting it out there. If one does, particularly at this stage of the game, you’re in crisis-response mode at the cost of core-message mode. Cain will now have to talk about this every day, or look like he’s dodging talking about this … every day. Not a path that’s likely to wind up at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
  3. When caught out, make a full statement and then move on. Cain is caught in a cycle of no-comment/denial/bimbo-eruption/feeding-frenzy. This is a really bad place to be, because at this point pretty much anything he says will be discounted as reluctant disclosure. If his campaign had rigorously acted on Tip #1, Tip #2 would have been pretty easy, and Tip #3 might have been completely unnecessary. He’s now going to be chewed on daily until the bimbo eruptions subside. He can keep up the no-comment/denial protocol, but that will keep him in the feeding-frenzy box for the foreseeable future.

I feel for the guy. I covered every Presidential race from 1980 to 2004. As I put it in my bio: I covered wars, Presidential campaigns, and Presidential campaigns that turned into wars. Politics is a rough, nasty, no-holds-barred business – the higher the office, the sharper the knives and the bigger the guns you’ll be up against.

Failing to recognize that, and failing to get in front of any negative information in your past by revealing it yourself first, guarantees painful war wounds.

That’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it …