Promises, promises . . .

Or should I say "excuses, excuses?"

I've been slammed at work lately. I want to write, but I've been working, and working, and working . . . I can't complain too loudly though--I have a friend who is a resident working 80 hour weeks right now . . . That man is TIRED!

As difficult as it is, I have a lot to say . . . and I will say it. But I'm a little nervous about writing here. The economy is scary (to say the least), and I don't want to do anything to jeopardize my current job.

My kids are visiting this weekend, but following this weekend I'll begin to write more. Maybe someone will "hear" what I'm saying . . .

Focus

Oh Lord, tell me I'm not "sleeping with the enemy . . ."

We (insurers) focus on patients (our primary customers) . . . and there is nothing wrong with that. But we need a broader focus. We need relationships with our members and our providers that are equal in nature.

We do a disservice to our customers (patients) by not having good relationships with health care providers.

In my humble opinion, this is more than cat-herding.

To read:

UnitedHealth and IBM Test Health Care Plan
UnitedHealth Leading the Way on the Medical Home?
United HealthCare; Still the Scum of the Earth

[Photo credit]

The business of herding cats

I'm a novice cat herder.

Most of the cats I'm trying to herd are larger than me. Much larger. OK, we all know how much cats love to be herded . . . try herding the big ones. Exactly. Success isn't easy.

Where am I going with this? Well, as you know already, I'm a cog. Now you know that I'm a cat-herding cog. I think those of you in health care can picture this . . . a cog attempting to herd cats.

And cats have ideas, if you know what I mean. LOTS of ideas. Sometimes cats have good ideas (like sleeping in a warm spot), but some of their ideas are not so good (sleeping in a warm spot which happens to be under the hood of a car). OK, none of my cats' ideas are THAT bad, but still. The real problem is the problem of all cat herders--ALL of my cats seem to think that they are in charge. ALL of them. And they all want to go with their own ideas, but their ideas aren't necessarily compatible. Cats!

OK, enough about cats . . .

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I've noticed a few things about people, and I'm taking notes. Some of the most successful people I know are also some of the most humble.

A year ago, I sat down and created a strategic plan for myself and my career path. I wanted to move forward, but I wasn't sure how to go about it. Thus, I began with a list of people whom I know and admire and asked them for advice. The kindest and most helpful person also happened to be the most successful person on my list. He is the retired CFO of a large, publicly traded company. This man reviewed my resume, asked me lots of questions, and gave me advice--and he spent a lot of time doing this. He also contacted a buddy of his who is the retired CEO of another large, publicly traded company. Both of these men were very humble about their careers and offered me useful advice. They both contacted other folks within their circles of influence in order to aid me--a cog! But they didn't treat me like a cog. The treated me like a student or a novice . . .

Other people on my list weren't at all interested in helping me. They were too busy, too important, too whatever (too busy being cats?). And some of them had been cogs like me in their recent past. But I learned from these folks as well--they just weren't aware of what they were teaching me.

I don't know where I'll go from here. Perhaps I'll always be a cog. Actually, I know I'll always be a cog, no matter where I end up--cogs are useful. But I'll be a humble cog, a cog willing to help another cog move forward . . .

Maybe some day I'll be able to help another cog learn how to herd cats.

[Photo credit]

Setting up a new blog . . .

. . . is a pain in the ass. Seriously.

I love to write, and I have lots of ideas--I've missed blogging! But first, I need to set this thing up . . . I have to admit that it is much easier now than it was in 2005 when I started the other blog. MUCH easier. In a way, it's more difficult though because I know what I need to do . . . back then I was learning along the way (on-the-blog training?).

So instead of writing, I'm adding links and a site meter . . . I still need to be added to the blog directories and ranking sites.

I've also noticed that some of the blogs from the past that focused on the business side of health care are no longer in existence . . . The business side isn't nearly as interesting, for sure. But it is important . . .

After setting up the blog, I plan to move any relevant posts from the old blog over here, so if you see something that looks familiar, I promise that it wasn't plagiarized. Then I'll start writing some new material. One of the first topics I will write about is health care/health insurance fraud. Later, I'll share some "patient" stories. Yes, I have patient stories too, and I need to be mindful of HIPAA when I write them. You've read what the doctors say about patient interactions . . . it doesn't stop there. All of that stuff is touched on the insurance side as well--think underwriting, claims, etc.

So, here we go again!

Introduction: A Humble Beginning . . .

Once upon a time, I wrote a patient blog, participated in medical blog carnivals, and followed multiple medical and health care related blogs. I wanted to go to med school, and had an interest in all things medical.

I removed my patient blog after witnessing the impact a blog can have on one's personal and professional lives--we are never truly anonymous (some of you may remember Flea, the doctor whose blog was disclosed in a malpractice suit).

I never lost my interest in health care and all things (most things?) medical . . . I've been wanting to blog again, but I've been worried about the many ways my writing could potentially impact me or my current employer. But I have a voice, and I want it to be heard.

Who am I? I am a patient, I am the parent or child of other patients. I am also a business professional in health care--working on the health insurance side. I am a minuscule cog in a very large wheel, but I'm doing everything I can to "fix things that are broken" on my side of the fence.