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Lisa Sanders      

The Medical “Sherlock Holmes”; Medical Director of the Yale New Haven Health Systems Long COVID Consultation Clinic

Millions of viewers around the world know Dr. Lisa Sanders’ from her hit Netflix show, "Diagnosis," helping people with mysterious medical mysteries figure out their, well, diagnoses. Dr. Sanders also pens a popular New York Times Magazine column and a new book by the same title. She was the inspiration and Technical Director of the hit TV series "House M.D.," starring Hugh Laurie.

Dr. Sanders is dedicated and passionate about inspiring global audiences to look beyond the obvious and set aside distractions to solve today’s most complex problems and come to the solution, or as she calls it, the diagnosis. After a decade-long career in journalism, at the age of 36, Dr. Sanders went from asking questions to get to the bottom of a story to asking questions that save people’s lives. Similar to the medical field, in the corporate world, leaders need to understand how to ask a question as much as which questions to ask. They must learn to overcome their assumptions to filter through what is relevant, set aside what is not, and make a clear diagnosis to avoid wasting people, time, and resources. Only then can a leader effectively communicate the company’s goal with a clear path to achieve success. Dr. Sanders speaks to groups in medical and corporate settings while sharing her unique insight into solving the most complex problems through actionable exercises and fascinating stories. She is very much “outside of the box.”

Speech Topics


Why We Need Medical Diagnosis Detectives

Today, 30 million Americans suffer from rare diseases, and it takes an average of 6 years to unlock these diagnoses. But Diagnosis Detective, Lisa Sanders, suggests that it’s not just rare diseases that we diagnose incorrectly. Diagnostic error is a large-scale problem that costs numerous lives each year.

So what do we do about it? Lisa shares that increased training, feedback, and specialization in medicine are the keys to improving diagnostic accuracy.

She also looks to Sherlock Holmes for a new approach, suggesting that doctors should look at each new case through a detective’s lens – with all evidence in front of them – rather than making a decision based on familiarity. In doing so, we can improve diagnoses, provide accurate treatments, and save lives.

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