"We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems." John W. Gardner

This quote appears in an interesting article by the Plexus Institute on why the increasingly centralised, controlling and mechanistic healthcare services which have been developed across the globe, fail and will continue to fail to deliver services which satisfy users and staff alike. It suggests that study of Complex Adaptive systems can suggest a way out of this situation. It says that "The defining feature of complex adaptive systems is emergence: (where)the order that emerges through the interactions of components in complex systems is "greater than - and different from - the sum of the parts"

It further suggests that there are two "important properties of complex systems. First, that complexity arises from a deep simplicity. Second, that the order of the whole system flows from distributed control, that is from interactions among individuals, not from central control. (also)"... called self-organization"

It identifies the insoluble problem that is really an opportunity as the potential to create a complex system for healthcare that is focused around these individual interactions and they say that "what is missing is the practical application of these findings [on complex systems] to advance the health and performance of individuals, families, organizations, and communities".

Could activmobs be a system that addresses these issues, providing platforms for people which allow for individual interactions through distributed control?

The Plexus institute has a network of active members now approaching 1,500 individuals from more than 36 countries and runs conferences including "Uncovering Solutions to Intractable Problems through Positive Deviance" to try to investigate these issues.

The article goes on to say "there are some people whose uncommon actions allow them to solve problems more successfully than neighbors who have the same resources". Does this mean that members of the RED team and its friends should aspire to calling themselves positive deviants? Have a look at the article at the Plexus Institute for a more detailed explanation.

CATEGORY: HEALTH PROJECT