Kristy Dickinson, Founder of Chronically Simple, is dedicated to helping patients become active members of their healthcare team.
Kristy was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome at 37, which led her to launch Chronically Simple, a platform that alleviates administrative burden, allowing patients and caregivers to manage the complexities of living with a chronic illness or disability. Chronically Simple lets you take control by linking prescriptions and test results to physicians, appointments, expenses, and care team members, giving you a truly holistic view of your healthcare. It is also available in the App Store and on Google Play.
This interview also references Dr. Leana Wen’s book, When Doctors Don’t Listen.
Highlights include:
11:50 – KD: “I started to take an active role in what can I do and that gave me back some of those feelings of control that you lose when you lose your health.”
12:35 – KD: “I really believe that knowledge is power. And especially again, in the rare space where oftentimes the patients and the caregivers are teaching their healthcare providers about their disease. So I think my philosophy is that no one will ever know your body and your health deeper or more intricately than you do.”
13:42 – KD: “It’s a burden to be that historian all the time, especially when you’re in a crisis situation.”
21:03 – KD: “I went to my network of acquaintances, family, and friends, and asked anyone that had any type of health condition or was in a caregiver role, how do you guys keep this all together? Because I was struggling, right? Like 10 different specialists, three hospital jurisdictions, and a whole bunch of different people coming in and out and in between. And so everybody said, binders, they keep everything in binders. So I started my binder and then I thought, you know, there’s got to be a better way.”
25:20 – KD: “What I’m most proud of is that literally every data point in Chronically Simple has been built by a patient or a caregiver’s journey.”
Leading with Health is hosted by Jennifer Michelle. Jennifer has a Master’s in Public Health and Epidemiology and is a former EMT. As President of Michelle Marketing Strategies, Jennifer specializes in healthcare marketing. She is on a mission to create a healthcare system that actually cares about the patients and the providers.