The Argument

The most consequential transformation in healthcare is not technological. It is relational.

Connected Care argues that the relationship between the clinician and the patient is the organising principle every technology decision should serve — and that most digital transformation fails because it starts from the system rather than from that relationship. It is a practical roadmap, drawn from more than twenty years of building and running hospitals, for leaders who have to make these decisions with real budgets and real people.

From the Introduction: The Essence of Connected Care

It is 2 a.m. A mother and her baby are fast asleep, until she hears the baby crying out of nowhere. The baby is usually sound asleep at this hour. This is an anomaly.

She goes to the baby and touches her forehead and hands. The baby is running a fever.

The first emotion is anxiety. It is quickly followed by frustration when she calls the clinic and finds the call centre is closed. Even if it were open, she would have to navigate endless menus before speaking to anyone. A mother of a baby with a fever has neither the calm nor the time for that.

As a doctor for over twenty-two years, I have met patients of all kinds. And I am here to tell you that no one, absolutely no one, wants to be in that mother's place.

Now imagine a hospital that really cares. With a few taps on an app, in three or four minutes, she secures a morning appointment and goes back to sleep knowing her child will be seen.

This is Connected Care in action. It is not just technology. It is not just care. It is what happens at the intersection of both.

The book has its own home. The chapters, the first chapter to read free, what other leaders have said about it, and where to order it are all at connected.care.