My life in medicine hasn’t been a straight line. In high school I worked in an orthopedic lab crushing cadaver hip bones, working to figure out better artificial joint designs. Later in college and medical school I did cancer research. I thought I wanted to be an oncologist, but later switched to neurology and then to neuroradiology. Some people take the high road. My wife would tell you I took the long road.
But my timing in radiology was good. The transitioning from film to digital imaging during my residency provided an opportunity to learn a lot about IT, and by extension play a role within the hospital administration relatively early in my career.
Now as a more senior physician at the the Barrow Neurological Institute I spend my time caring for patients and teaching residents and fellows. I become an entrepreneur helping a
series of start ups in the device and health IT space. Along the way I learned a little about raising money from venture capital and private equity. I’ve also worked on several healthcare policy initiatives. In part stemming from frustration with what medicine has become- a gordian knot of maligned incentives pushing back against any change- I started blogging- at times I’ve thought to retitle the blog “Medicine of the absurd.”
There is a famous version of an Indian legend by John Saxe “The Blind Men and the Elephant.” Each feels the elephant and, depending on what part they are near, each comes to a different conclusion- a wall, a snake, a spear, etc. In many ways, healthcare is similar. Across the various roles (provider, administrator, innovator, policy maker, researcher, investor, etc) I’ve noticed a disconnect. Although we’re all trying to deliver better care each sees the world through their own lens.
Healthcare PittStop is an effort to learn from one another. I’ll be inviting friends from all healthcare sectors to tell me what motivates them, the problems they see and potential solutions. These conversations will be posted as vlogs, blogs and podcasts. I hope you join me. If you have a topic or would like to participate let me know. Together we can change the way we care for each other.

Alan