Hive Health

As we move towards a more client centred healthcare system and perhaps personalised budgets, we often find ourselves discussing patient empowerment, choice and the interface between healthcare professional and customer. Forecasting this evolution is something we get involved with in strategic development sessions, trend forecasting and figuring out how we will change as an audience and a company.

Most organisational systems progress through some form of centralised command and control shift towards individualised responsibility. I recently finished Bill Oncken’s article written in 1974 that offers executives a way to resist top down command and control in favour of more progressive (at that time) delegated team responsibility. This shift; from top down dictatorships to liberal democracy or paternalism through to shared responsibility is writ large across our TV screen currently.

Whether that be streets filled with democracy seekers, the uptake of an AK–47 or a strongly worded letter to The Times, it’s all clear that the road to individualised empowerment, is one that can be speed up with a bit of direct action.

With this front of mind I was pleasantly surprised to see what was the first example of direct health improvement action this week. For me it’s unique in remit and media. Just downright strange at first but for us healthcare communications geeks really interesting. Perhaps this is the start for a new wave of direct peer to peer action – seeking genuine societal change. Next – stencilled graffiti listing calories outside Burger King?