Joe was a healthcare consultant who collected thousands of documents of helpful information that he shared with healthcare organizations. His thinking was this: Why should hospitals have to reinvent the wheel? If organizations were willing to share with others, he was willing to become a conduit for that sharing for the benefit of other hospitals and ultimately for their patients. His hopes were that larger trade organizations would eventually collect the information and freely share with their constituents. Joe provided copies of his CD to fellow consultants and encouraged them to share the information with others. On the second day of a work assignment in Virginia, Joe noticed that one of the consultants to whom he had given a copy of the CD the day before had spread various newspaper clippings about hospitals spread out on the organization’s conference room table. Joe thought they looked interesting and asked, “Could I have a copy of your clippings?” The consultant said, “No, these are proprietary information.” Joe was thinking to himself, “Wow, I just gave him thousands of pages of documents, and he is unwilling to share four or five newspaper clippings with me.”
Discussion
1. Joe never pointed out the fact that he had shared so much the day before. What would you have done if you were Joe? Explain your answer.
2. Should organizations such as the American Hospital Association make greater strides in collecting helpful information that could be shared with others (e.g., innovative pain management centers)? Discuss your answer.