Changemakers caught up recently with two of the co-founders of the Fast Forward Health film festival: Andre Blackman and David Haddad. You can listen in on our conversation about innovations in health care and the film festival they launched in Washington D.C. this year:
And if you're strapped for time, here's a quick overview of the conversation:
In 3 words: Technology, Design, Disruption.
In a phrase: Democratization of Health.
Question 1: What are some trends you are noticing in the field of health innovation?
- Technology & social media have played a significant role in diversifying the messages around public health.
- Technology is allowing those in the field to connect directly with consumers and patients; Mobile technologies, especially, are gaining enormous significance.
- New events are bringing together people from various pieces of the health care puzzle.
- The design world is introducing human-centered design to health care - planning processes are beginning to put people (and empathy) at the center of the planning process, instead of business or finance.
- Non-traditional actors are providing value and leadership (companies, entrepreneurs, designers, communications experts, technologists, and more).
Question 2: Tell us a bit about the Fast Forward Health Film Festival.
- We often hear these sad stories about health care around the world, but there is so much incredible work going on - so many incredible stories to be told. We put this festival together to share these stories.
- The Festival is focused on 3 major areas:
- Environment & Community
- Technology
- Food & Water
- We want to inspire a new movement in public health; visual story-telling is a compelling way to move people.
- If you're curious about the piano steps project Andre mentions, click here.
Question 3: What are some innovations you are seeing that can "travel"?
- Reproductive health voucher programs are changing maternal and infant health in some of the most disadvantages communities.
- There are major efforts underway to bridge the physical and digital worlds - especially by integrating design into daily life in order to ensure technology adapts to the user, not the other way around.
Needless to say, we only scratched the surface - which is why we have already scheduled a follow-up conversation (that will include Jaspal Sandhu of Gobee Group) to dive deeper into "reverse innovation."
Next week: We will be speaking with Rose Reis and Donika Dimovska of the Center for Health Market Innovations to discuss their new (and incredibly useful) report on health market innovations.
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What is the #innovatehealth Interview Series?
A weekly interview series focused on innovations in health care and delivery from across the globe.
As you may know, Changemakers and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation are hosting a competition to identify health care solutions/models that have the potential to be adapted in other parts of the world. We are already seeing some exciting submissions, and as new approaches to health care continue to roll in from across the globe, our team here at Changemakers wanted to dive a bit deeper into this exciting field of health care innovation.
And what better way to do that, than talking with those who have dedicated their lives to improving health care systems through disruptive innovation? That's why we launched the #innovatehealth Interview Series. From now through the competition deadline (February 13th) we will be speaking with experts in the field of health innovation, and sharing the conversations with you. Stay tuned!
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