We are in a state of emergency. Our friends and families are far away even if they are just round the corner. Most of us don’t leave the house beyond essential trips. All meetings are virtual. Working from home is the new normal. And we are addicted to COVID19 updates, which only serve to increase our anxiety.

Today’s newsletter is about learning from this situation for the future. Taking our collective experience and using it when we are next faced with a personal or work-related crisis.

In business, facts and data matter. They are the foundation of success. However, when it comes to running successful projects, ignore feelings at your peril.

Today’s newsletter is about feelings. Especially on how to engage your stakeholders feelings to ensure your global projects run more smoothly.

Exciting news – my new website is finally live. It has been a veritable labour of love, I think we started in January, you can imagine relieved I am that it is finally finished, for now.

Ever wondered why I called my company elytra?Curious about the beetle connection? More work than you can handle and you too have realised with a shock that there are only 13 weeks to the end of the year? I still cannot get over this. Or are you interested in exploring how coaching can help you be more effective?

Today I received an email. A colleague named four vendors asking “which of the four provides the best end-to-end software solution for Medical Affairs teams?”

The answer, is, of course, spoiler alert “none of them”.

The good news is that the answer, all of them, is also true.

Today’s edition will focus on how to pick the best software solution for your business needs.

According to a recent Guardian article, more than 50% of GPs in France are older than 60, choosing to continue to work to give patients access to treatment.

What keeps me going? France’s oldest doctor says my patients.

At 98 years old he is still practicing because in the area of France where he lives there are not enough practicing GPs. His son retired as a doctor at 67.

Working efficiently in complex systems and delivering complex projects keeps me busy. Curiosity about how humans interact with each other keeps me motivated. Curiosity on how to increase efficiencies and free up human resources has led to a fascination with technology.Focus on both areas and technological advances have led to a fascination with how humans interact with AI.

Read on to find out why patients trust robots and why, based on experiments I have seen, I am starting to doubt the truth of the following statement “AI will never replace doctors because patients will always want the human touch”

Projects come in many different shapes and sizes.

However, the fundamental factors that will ensure your project runs well, are the same whether you are designing and implementing an IT system or re-organizing your global medical information function.

Inspired by a flood and a hole in my wall during a recent remodeling project I decided to use this example as a case study to highlight how you can achieve great project outcomes.

Today’s newsletter is: 9 Lessons for Stellar Project Management

Pharma companies often discuss what patients want.

And, while patients often contact Medical Information teams, the teams are challenged to provide information that is relevant to the patienta but still in line with the regulations.

Recently at a conference, a company representative was talking about providing Medical Information letters to patients. In an audience survey most participants said, yes, we are writing letters for patients. When asked how many of them involved patients in designing those letters? Not a single hand went up.

To find out what patients want from pharmaceutical companies Medical Information teams I interviewed Suz Schradt, Director of Patient-Engagement at the Arthritis Foundation and a long-term advocate for patient engagement.

Today I am sharing with you Suz’ experience of a Medinfo Service and what her vision is for the type of information she would like to be able to access one day in the future.

Last week I took part in a panel discussion with the title “Hey Siri – I’m not feeling well today” at EU DIA 2019 in Vienna. The session was chaired by Jill Voss and my fellow-panelists were Gavin Lyndon, Suzanne Meenan and Ian Hamilton.

We covered topics ranging from cost, automation and AI in healthcare to chatbots, multichannel engagement and the ideal skill-set for the employee of the future.

We also talked about patient Dave, Robodoc and patient Dave’s umbrella. Well, Ian did.

For more insights into our session from last weeks EU DIA 2019 Vienna please read on below.

I was recently diagnosed with a tibial shaft fracture. I know. I was very worried.

I was diagnosed by Dr. Chatbot on a well-known site. The symptoms I provided to test the system were targeting the diagnosis: deep venous thrombosis. This wasn’t even offered as a differential diagnosis. The example illustrates, what we all already worry about.

Individuals with no healthcare background are at risk of finding inaccurate information online and consequently following recommendations that may be detrimental to their health.

So where exactly are we with healthcare provision by AI? Find some thoughts below and please also join me for a panel discussion with the title “Hey, Siri, I’m not feeling well today” at EU DIA 2019 in Vienna on the 7th February.