We’re mega excited to be heading to Minneapolis later this week. It’s always such a powerful experience for us as organizers to observe how each community surfaces their greatest needs and then works through their Flip ideas to address them. In fact, about mid-way through the day, Lab groups have more raw ideas than can reasonably be developed in an 8-hour period. So as we anticipate our Lab in Minneapolis, let’s look back at Princeton and Philadelphia. Before the groups decided which ideas to pour their energy into, there was a deluge of inspiring insights. Here’s a peek.

* Use EMR data to create a personal health plan that projects years into the future, helping people understand what they need to do to stay healthy in the long term.

* All clinicians wear a name tag that includes a factoid, helping patients get to know their health team in a playful way. (This one was inspired by Flip the Clinic’s Lab name tags!)

* Peek behind the curtain is a way to respectfully communicate what’s going on with patients. Ex: Update clinicians on how the patient’s week has been going to add more context to their visit.

* An idea to strengthen organization and communication between colleagues in the workplace.

* Improve communication behind scheduling.

* How to nourish an organization and its members by strengthening a core vision.

* Paperwork that’s more mindful and therapeutic.

* Create an easy place to share and deposit Story Corps-like booth-stories for patients.

* An informational handout on value statements.

* Rename “patients” in an effort to see patients as people.

* Create a standard 3-question set in the clinic that gets at the patient as a person.

* Ask patients, Why are you here? What are your goals?

* Reimagine the EMR so that the patient goes first.

* An app where clinicians can request translation services for patients who don’t speak english.

* A community-based health care point person.

* A one-page narrative that follows the patient.

* Design artifacts that help patient-clinician communication.

* Health mad libs for patients.

* A app that reports a patient’s actual appointment time, not the one scheduled and since pushed an hour.

* The bartender as the health advocate.

* A medical passport that patients bring with them.

* Create tools for people to tell personal stories, also used to teach providers.

Photo courtesy of m01229.