Welcome back to The Patients Speak podcast, where today's focus is on improving women's health through empowerment, education, and collaboration between patients and health providers.

Michelle Griffin

Michelle's Website

@thedrcalled on Instagram

1. **Introduction to Dr. Michelle Griffin**

- Dr. Michelle Griffin, a doctor, health educator, strategist, and business advisor with a unique perspective gained from almost 20 years as an OBGYN and a startup advisor.

- Discussion on the changing landscape of overall health, particularly in women's health.

2. **Patients' Needs and Effective Healthcare**

- Dr. Griffin emphasizes the importance of understanding patients' wants, needs, and effectiveness to truly improve women's healthcare.

- The dynamic nature of women's health, spanning from consumers seeking products to patients in need of expert medical intervention.

- Quote from Dr. Michelle: "We're only going to be successful in increasing and improving the standard of women's healthcare by really examining what patients want and what they need."

3. **Challenges and Gaps in Women's Health**

- Exploring the challenges faced by companies aiming to address the diverse needs of women in healthcare.

- The complexity of women's health, involving biological, social, and psychological factors.

- Quote from Dr. Michelle: "Healthcare is complex, and it's not about the next shampoo that's going to make your hair feel really clean and shiny."

4. **Clinical Trials and Gender Representation**

- Highlighting the underrepresentation of women in clinical trials and the need for a broader perspective in protocol development.

- Discussing the lack of research understanding around women's normal health before addressing abnormalities.

- The necessity of increased funding for women's health research and the importance of gender-specific considerations in clinical trials.

5. **Implications for Drug and Medical Device Development**

- Dr. Griffin emphasizes the urgency in women's health, urging the industry not to reinvent the wheel but build on existing knowledge.

- A focus on technology that addresses the impact on end-users, providing solutions that genuinely improve women's lives.

- Quote from Dr. Michelle: "We need to look at things completely differently and everything that we did think was true... we need to look at this completely differently."

6. **Physician-Patient Communication and Empathy**

- Exploring the challenges physicians face within limited consultation times and the emotional toll of effective communication.

- Importance of active listening, acknowledging patients' concerns, and transparency in physician-patient interactions.

- Dr. Michelle shares her approach of using the ICE model (Ideas, Concerns, Expectations) to facilitate patient communication.

7. **Role of Technology in Improving Consultations**

- The potential role of technology in helping patients collect and present information, making consultations more efficient and focused.

- Addressing the need for emotional and mental support for physicians dealing with intense, short patient interactions.

- Dr. Michelle's encouragement for patients to bring recorded information, diaries, and notes to consultations.

8. **Closing Thoughts and Call to Action**

- Dr. Griffin concludes by emphasizing the need to recognize the uniqueness of women's health and the collective responsibility to improve healthcare standards.

- Encouragement for patients to communicate and advocate for themselves, and for healthcare professionals, researchers, and others to actively seek ways to enhance women's...