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Introduction to Part 1
Introduction to Part 1
“Technological health”: these are two terms whose nature might seem antagonistic. Certainly, technology has revolutionized the curative approach in medicine: chemotherapy, imaging and surgical robotics have made it possible to identify the enemy and eradicate it. But does that make you healthy? The definition of health advocated by the WHO introduces the word well-being into its conception. Nothing is more abstract than “well-being”. From a spa session (hydrotherapy, massages, etc.) to listening to a composition by Mozart, from climbing Mont Blanc at minus 25°C to a few gymnastic movements on a mat, a cuddle with a dog, the purr of a cat, the warmth of a stable, the murmur of the wind in a forest, and even the resolution of computer programs: everything can be a source of “well-being” and provide the sensation of eternity. The body is forgotten in well-being. A cancer patient may feel well, as may a manic-depressive psychiatric patient, or a disabled person. Therapeutics increasingly includes relaxation and fitness sessions in their general management. Oncology programs combine the help of beauticians, sports educators and clowns. Disabled people may benefit from equine therapists to make them forget that at one point, the body suffered and was in agony. It is a question of reigniting the desire for pleasure for a consciousness that the disease has strongly challenged, and these sparks take an increasingly important place in healthcare. They are now proven to be effective. This state of affairs perplexes people of science who are constantly finding receptors,
4
Health Efficiency
hormones and neurotransmitters to explain this poorly quantifiable success. And yet it works! The average survival rates of patients managed by these programs are increasing, and the complications associated with illnesses are diminishing – proof that there is indeed something imperceptible that pulls the body towards its “spirit human” condition. A long way from technology! And yet, how should we organize all this in the current context of a moving society clinging to its mobile phone, to the Internet, solicited from all sides, scattered over an increasingly vast territory? Relationships change along with their habits, and patients too, even if the substance remains the same and the WHO definition retains all its relevance. Coordination between professionals thus becomes a central concern for all professionals in the healthcare system. The collective position is at the service of the individual where any action must be adjusted in coherence with others. The implementation of health pathway coordination often requires rethinking one’s profession. The capacity to adapt, the relative renunciation of its place as the center of a process in favor of an element centering on a process, cooperation, subsidiarity and neutrality are all qualities that must be developed for everything to work. Also, interaction among professionals and, intersecting care programs, becomes a real challenge where the objective is to limit interference and reach the end of the process without harmful consequences for the patient. If the patient posts a remission quicker than expected, or on the contrary, an unforeseen complication arises, this could cause the whole organization to collapse in a succession of psychological dramas where the hospital no longer wants to hear from the local doctors, the nurse no longer talks to the occupational therapist, and the health insurance ends up punishing everyone under the pretext of social justice! An unwelcome prankster, the patient feels left to their own devices, and the fruit of this placement rots with the hope that despite everything, health will return. “Social networks”, enabled by new digital technologies, have shown how powerful it is to organize a world in a short time frame. This is thought-provoking, and the social networks can be used for the health coordination of a cure for this need for coordination. Whether they upset our conceptions to the point of rejecting them or on the contrary stimulate our creativity, they challenge us on how to coordinate a group and on the interference of technology in the narrower world of health. Something to meditate on!
“Technological health”: these are two terms whose nature might seem antagonistic. Certainly, technology has revolutionized the curative approach in medicine: chemotherapy, imaging and surgical robotics have made it possible to identify the enemy and eradicate it. But does that make you healthy? The definition of health advocated by the WHO introduces the word well-being into its conception. Nothing is more abstract than “well-being”. From a spa session (hydrotherapy, massages, etc.) to listening to a composition by Mozart, from climbing Mont Blanc at minus 25°C to a few gymnastic movements on a mat, a cuddle with a dog, the purr of a cat, the warmth of a stable, the murmur of the wind in a forest, and even the resolution of computer programs: everything can be a source of “well-being” and provide the sensation of eternity. The body is forgotten in well-being. A cancer patient may feel well, as may a manic-depressive psychiatric patient, or a disabled person. Therapeutics increasingly includes relaxation and fitness sessions in their general management. Oncology programs combine the help of beauticians, sports educators and clowns. Disabled people may benefit from equine therapists to make them forget that at one point, the body suffered and was in agony. It is a question of reigniting the desire for pleasure for a consciousness that the disease has strongly challenged, and these sparks take an increasingly important place in healthcare. They are now proven to be effective. This state of affairs perplexes people of science who are constantly finding receptors,
4
Health Efficiency
hormones and neurotransmitters to explain this poorly quantifiable success. And yet it works! The average survival rates of patients managed by these programs are increasing, and the complications associated with illnesses are diminishing – proof that there is indeed something imperceptible that pulls the body towards its “spirit human” condition. A long way from technology! And yet, how should we organize all this in the current context of a moving society clinging to its mobile phone, to the Internet, solicited from all sides, scattered over an increasingly vast territory? Relationships change along with their habits, and patients too, even if the substance remains the same and the WHO definition retains all its relevance. Coordination between professionals thus becomes a central concern for all professionals in the healthcare system. The collective position is at the service of the individual where any action must be adjusted in coherence with others. The implementation of health pathway coordination often requires rethinking one’s profession. The capacity to adapt, the relative renunciation of its place as the center of a process in favor of an element centering on a process, cooperation, subsidiarity and neutrality are all qualities that must be developed for everything to work. Also, interaction among professionals and, intersecting care programs, becomes a real challenge where the objective is to limit interference and reach the end of the process without harmful consequences for the patient. If the patient posts a remission quicker than expected, or on the contrary, an unforeseen complication arises, this could cause the whole organization to collapse in a succession of psychological dramas where the hospital no longer wants to hear from the local doctors, the nurse no longer talks to the occupational therapist, and the health insurance ends up punishing everyone under the pretext of social justice! An unwelcome prankster, the patient feels left to their own devices, and the fruit of this placement rots with the hope that despite everything, health will return. “Social networks”, enabled by new digital technologies, have shown how powerful it is to organize a world in a short time frame. This is thought-provoking, and the social networks can be used for the health coordination of a cure for this need for coordination. Whether they upset our conceptions to the point of rejecting them or on the contrary stimulate our creativity, they challenge us on how to coordinate a group and on the interference of technology in the narrower world of health. Something to meditate on!