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Tuesday lunchtime saw a lively discussion in the staff room at Middle Street Surgery. Dr Puddle, iPhone in one hand and sandwich in the other, proclaimed that everyone’s job was safe!

Well, for a little longer at least.

He had just heard via Twitter that the North London trail to replace NHS111 call handlers with Babylon’s artificially intelligent chatbot symptom checker had been abandoned.

It seems, he went on… That patients, who have to wait days or even weeks for a GP appointment, might deliberately game the symptom checker if they think it will get them a quicker appointment.

Dr Puddle looked up and around at a room of knowing looks and unsurprised faces.

The staff room had a number of thoughts about why the trial may have failed…

1. Wrong solution for the wrong problem? Efforts to improve access when capacity is the problem will not help

There are a finite number of GPs, nurses and appointments and a seemingly unquenchable demand. Getting an appointment can often feel like a competition. When systems change, patients wise up quickly and soon learn how to maximise their chance of getting an appointment. Call earlier, ring at certain times of the day when slots are released, drop in as the surgery opens. A new equilibrium is quickly reached.

New ways of booking an appointment don’t change things for long if the problem is that there aren’t enough appointments in the first place.

Attempts to improve capacity by simply improving access can backfire and overwhelm already over stretched services.

Continue reading “Chatbot vs NHS111 trial cancelled as patients game the system”

Ask entrepreneurs and innovators who they most admire and one name invariably rises toward the top of the list.

Elon Reeve Musk

Elon Musk is a South African – Canadian – American billionaire technology entrepreneur. He is currently riding a wave of successes at his three main companies. If his form continues, he may well be remembered as one of the great figures of the 21st century.

• At Tesla, Musk is disrupting the motor industry by making electric cars that are actually usable and desired by consumers. He has traditional automakers playing catch up.
• SolarCity is making solar roof tiles and home battery storage solutions with the aim of eliminating our dependence on fossil fuels.
• At SpaceX, Musk has dramatically cut the cost of sending satellites, and soon humans, to space by making reusable rockets a reality. He ultimately aims to make mankind an interplanetary species and establish a colony on Mars.

Not content to simultaneously revolutionise 3 industries, he has also found time to form companies to promote various other ideas, causes and concepts.

• Supersonic intercity travel in vacuum tubes (HyperLoop)
• Saving the world from rogue Artificial Intelligences (OpenAI)
• Building a network of tunnels under Los Angeles to alleviate traffic congestion (TheBoringCompany)
• Melding the capabilities of man and computer with brain-machine interfaces (Neuralink)

And he still has had time to father 6 children and inspire Robert Downey Junior’s portrayal of Tony Stark in the recent Marvel Iron Man and Avenger films…

In fact it is difficult to write about Musk without feeling like a large man crush is being revealed to the world.

Musk also his his critics. He has been called a hyperactive, attention seeking, exaggerater. Former employees and colleagues will often describe a demanding and sometimes bullying darker side.

Such was my fascination with this figure that I recently read Ashley Vance’s biography of Musk.

I have tried to digest the information and distill some lessons relevant to my life/role as a GP interested in organisational development and technology… They may be of interest to you too…

Continue reading “5 lessons for Doctors from Elon Musk”

On 22 of June Helen Stokes came to visit Nottingham and spoke to local GPs at an RCGP Vale of Trent Faculty evening event. She spoke about “The Future of GP” and was quizzed by questions from members.

Dr Stokes-Lampard discussed:

• The role of the RCGP
• Progress with GPFV
• Handling the snap election and the unexpected result
• That handshake with Jeremy Hunt (he has two GP sister-in-laws apparently)
• Glass ceilings in medicine
• Working at scale

In an RCGP first, the event was streamed live on the faculties facebook page. It was great fun for our team to experiment with new technology and innovate.

Sit back and enjoy 36 minutes of HSL…

When picturing an entrepreneurial pitch, most people’s minds will turn to the popular BBC TV show Dragon’s Den. Business owners braving the scrutiny of the rich, experienced and powerful dragons in a make or break attempt to win funding over 10, or so, awkward minutes.

However, pitching a company or idea can take many different forms. The audience isn’t always an investor. Other people also need convincing that your business will work. Key employees, customers, partner’s, family and friends will all need persuading at times. And, often this persuading is accomplished over many conversations, rather than a single event.

Some consider the reality of successful pitching more like dating. You need to show up, make a good impression, put in some effort and show passion. But, at least initially, leave them wanting more and give them a reason to look forward to that next date.

Our journey through this 5 part series exploring the world of entrepreneurs and medical startups is nearly at an end. We have travelled through the process of becoming a founder, finding a good service or product idea, assembling a winning startup team, and identifying sources of funding. Today, in this final installment, we will examine the important skill of delivering a good pitch.

In this post, we will explore general tips for delivering a good pitch and consider some of the building blocks for constructing a versatile “pitch deck”. A useful resource to support pitching to a variety of audiences.

Pitching your medical startup – General tips

Continue reading “Anatomy of a Doctorpreneur 5/5 – The Pitch”

Workforce issues consistently appear the near top of lists of problems facing general practice.

GP Trainees and First5s look their more senior colleagues and see some of them struggling to cope with workload and stress. The pressure to do all they can to find the right job for them, at the right practice, is felt keener than ever.

Practices are finding it difficult to fill positions, particularly partnership roles. Many fear that they may become unsustainable if they cannot recruit to replace those retiring or moving on.

In this video I talk to a group of First5 and ST3 GP registrars about the process of finding and securing a good post.

If you are a new, or not so new, GP searching for a job then I hope the presentation will be useful.

For practices looking to recruit, the discussion and questions from new GPs offer an interesting insight into the their concerns and priorities. These might help you also in your search for the right candidate.

In the video, we cover:

• Deciding what your dream job actually looks like
• Assessing GP job adverts
• Informal visits
• CVs
• Covering letters
• Interviews
• Negotiating salary and terms

For more videos from the RCGP Vale of Trent Transitions2017 Conference, click here.

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