The second World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) took place in February 2015 at the Qatar National Convention Center. It was sponsored by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development is supporting Qatar on its journey from a carbon economy to a knowledge economy by unlocking human potential for the benefit of not only Qatar, but the world. Experts shared research, insights and innovations as 80 countries joined together to overcome global health threats. Research was shared on cancer, ideas on tackling dementia, insights into Ebola and evidence on preventing diabetes.
The major areas covered during the summit were:
- Communicating Complex Health Messages
- Delivering Affordable Cancer Care
- Dementia
- Diabetes
- Healthcare and Ethics: Genomics
- Maternal and Newborn Health
- Mental Health and Wellbeing in Children
- Patient Safety
- Universal Health Coverage
The issue of communicating complex health messages is critical for all national leaders to help make this information readily available to the public as a whole. Making these complicated issues more easily accessible to the average person is a core component for individuals to take charge of their own health care. Patients often feel that their medical providers don’t listen to them adequately or they are not partners in their health care management. Most doctors only have six minutes per patient to complete diagnosis and treatment protocols. That can lead to disastrous results causing “preventable harm” making it the third leading cause of death.
Using a simple concept as a checklist for patients can help avoidable miscommunication. In conjunction with Johns Hopkins, the idea of a checklist was designed to reduce medical errors. The patient can then review the processes and procedures used by the medical team providing their care. Simple questions, such as “Are there alternatives to this treatment?” or “Do you have family to care for you while you recover?” will help the patient look more deeply into their care options.
A free app called Doctella is available for consumers to better communicate with their health care team and therefore be able to make more effective decisions. The app provides a customized checklist to help the patient and their families navigate throughout the timeline of care. This is a first step in engaging the patient in a more meaningful conversations with their medical practitioners with the intention of safer and more effective patient-centered care.
Doctella is available for Apple iOS and Android.
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