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Time for change!

The theme of our 2019 conference was #Time4Change. This post kicks off a major 2021 campaign for our Society: the Participatory Medicine Manifesto.

At that event we took action: in a design-thinking exercise, attendees crowdsourced the ideas that have become this manifesto. In the 18 months since, we’ve refined the ideas, drafted the text, and tested it repeatedly with numerous audiences, within our society and beyond. At last it’s finished, and has been produced as a gorgeous two-page full color PDF.

Please watch this two minute video from some of us, read about the manifesto, and sign the Pledge page:

Imagine healthcare as a true partnership

“Participatory” really does mean partnership. As this excerpt from the manifesto shows, in each of five areas, we put forth matching promises between professionals and their patients:

It’s the fulfillment of themes we’ve been writing about for more than a decade, when we echoed the NPSF’s patient compact in a post. That compact voiced the ideas in a context of paternal caring; today we say it’s #Time4Change – full partnership.

What’s next

Promulgating this is a principal campaign for SPM in 2021. We’ll be having a series of online forums about different aspects of it, culminating in an event late this year which focuses on making the manifesto’s promise a reality for individuals and organizations.

You can help: Sign on, and share with your networks. The manifesto’s page SignTheManifesto.org has everything you need: social media images, the two page PDF of the manifesto, and the heart of the matter – why we’re doing it:

There are three parts to the Manifesto.

  1. The manifesto itself, what we believe in one paragraph
  2. The highest level areas that we agree to focus on.
  3. Most importantly, are the “I Will” statements that we created based on everyone’s input. These are the key, they are what makes this more than a piece of paper. These are the things that we hope everyone agrees to take on. For example, As a Patient, I will be prepared to share my story and experiences completely, accurately, and honestly.

Take action! Time for change.

Please: the world needs healthcare to be more participatory. Read the manifesto. Think about these five exquisitely important concepts, and how they look in partnership. Sign – and share. Get your friends involved, too. That’s the only way real change ever happens: when a lot of us take action.

Thank you!

 

 

 

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