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Phoenix patients, doctors invited to 'flip' the clinical experience


Flip the Clinic logo
March 04, 2015

"Hacking" health care will be the focus of a daylong workshop March 5, hosted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation at the Phoenix Art Museum, that will bring together patients, clinicians, health care administrators and innovators, in an effort to get more out of health care interaction.

Phoenix's Flip the Clinic Lab will be the second in a six-city series, the first of which took place in San Francisco in January and yielded innovative ideas, meaningful collaborations and real action. The clinic is supported by Phoenix city partner, Arizona State University's Center for Sustainable Health's Project HoneyBee.

“I came out of the lab with an unshakable belief that together we could have huge and positive impacts on health care,” said Grace O’Sullivan, a participant in San Francisco’s Flip the Clinic Lab, and director of strategic partnerships at the ASU Biodesign Institute's Center for Sustainable Health. “If we start with something small, big – seemingly insurmountable – forces can and will be shifted.”

A project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Flip the Clinic brings together patients and health practitioners, both online and in person, to design new tools and share existing strategies aimed at getting more out of the health care interaction.

Central to the process are the "flips"– bold new ways of looking at the patient-clinician relationship that challenge assumptions to improve both the quality and satisfaction of that relationship for all involved. The goal is to create meaningful changes in what is widely recognized as a broken health care system, where both patients and clinicians are too often dissatisfied.

“We are proud to be a Flip the Clinic Ally and the Phoenix city partner,” said Lee Hartwell, chief scientist for the Center for Sustainable Health. “This novel, grassroots approach speaks to the heart of the community and what we’re trying to achieve through Project HoneyBee. It’s really all about empowering patients with the right information at the right time to spark meaningful conversations in care settings.”

With a strong and growing health care industry, health systems that regularly rank as some of the area’s largest employers, and increasing recognition as a hub for technology and innovation, Phoenix is an ideal city for a Flip the Clinic Lab, and will undoubtedly yield a number of innovative and exciting flips.

A few spots are still available, and those who are interested in the daylong Flip the Clinic Lab can apply at http://fliptheclinic.org/events/apply-to-attend-a-flip-the-clinic-community-lab/.

Registration is $250 per person, and scholarships are available.

At the conclusion of the workshop, community members are invited to join lab participants for a community forum, where they can learn more about the project, Phoenix flips-in-progress and opportunities for sharing their unique skills and interests to support a burgeoning flip.

Information and registration ($25 fee) for the community forum is available at https://soled.wufoo.com/forms/mookgmf0eczbxq/.

For more information on the Flip the Clinic Lab in Phoenix, call 206-617-6085 or email press@fliptheclinic.org.