Dispatch from Israel

This week Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker led a trip of clinicians, industry leaders, government officials, academics, and entrepreneurs to visit Israel (not at taxpayer expense) on a mission to establish Massachusetts as an incubator for the US growth of Israeli companies. I represented the healthcare IT innovation work we ’re doing at Beth Israel Deaconess and Harvard Medical School.Israel is a remarkable place.  With 8 million people in a nation the size of New Jersey situated in an unstable part of the world, Israel has no choice but to be a start up nation, creating companies that generate economic impact world wide.Our agenda was focused on Digital Health and Cybersecurity.  We attended briefings.  We heard pitches. We gave lectures and ran a summit. Many friendships were made and opportunities discovered.What lessons did I learn from Israel?First - a caveat.  I ’m an American and my observations may be completely wrong, but here’s what I saw.At sunset last night, I waded in the Mediterranean. I saw a cluster of small sail boats 100 yards from shore practicing maneuvers.  A few minutes later, the boats came back to port and I noticed the sailors were probably 8 years old.  The one adult around the 20 sailors told them to pick up their boats, dissemble the sails and carry the parts into a storage area, completely unassisted. The children were completely self sufficient and confident.  That â...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs