New Power in Health Care: An Impetus for Change

Megan L. Ranney, MD, MPH, FACEP, is an emergency physician, researcher, public health advocate and media commentator. In this episode, she discusses the Lifespan Center for Digital Health and what “new power” means for bringing change in the health care field.

Intro :14 About Ranney :27 The interview 2:28 How did you get to where you are? 3:09 You recently launched this Lifespan Center for Digital Health which you are the director of, can you tell us about that and how it came about and what it does? 4:55 What has this pandemic been like for you as a practitioner? How have you either changed the way you’ve practiced medicine or how has it impacted you as an ER physician? 11:46 How do you keep yourself motivated to keep doing the work? How do you not let it beat you down? 17:00 The need for doctors to practice self-care during the pandemic to avoid burnout 20:09 What “new power” means and how Ranney’s organizations practice it and exemplify it on a daily basis 22:15 For physicians who are practicing medicine whether in academia or a more traditional setting, how do you suggest they infuse “new power” into their jobs, careers and their health care systems? 26:19 Do you think or have you found that this pandemic has changed the way people think about some of the hierarchical structures? 32:47 Getting funding for the firearm injury research project 35:30 Ranney’s one pearl of wisdom 44:40 Where to find Ranney 45:37

Megan L. Ranney, MD, MPH, FACEP is an emergency physician, researcher, and national advocate for innovative approaches to public health. She holds the Warren Alpert Endowed Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Alpert Medical School of Brown University and is founding director of the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health. She is an editor for Annals of Emergency Medicine, a Fellow of the fifth class of the Aspen Institute’s Health Innovators Fellowship Program, and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. She has received numerous awards for technology innovation, public health, and research, including Rhode Island Woman Physician of the Year and the American College of Emergency Physicians’ Policy Pioneer Award. She is also a frequent media commentator on outlets ranging from CNN to the Atlantic to the New York Times regarding the value of a national public health strategy.

Disclosures: Jain reports she is a paid freelance writer for Lippincott. Ranney reports receiving NIH and CDC funding, as well as funding from Medscape to provide education on COVID-19 testing, and volunteer positions on board of directors of AFFIRM Research and GetUsPPE.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to Dr. Jain at [email protected].  Megan Ranney can be reached on Twitter @meganranney. Follow us on Twitter @HemOncToday @ShikhaJainMD.