Beyond “How Can I Help?”: I Don’t Just Want to Watch the Future of Care—I Want to Help Build It
I’ve been watching the TV series New Amsterdam —especially Max Goodwin and that relentless question: “How can I help?”
A lot of people love Max because he’s inspiring. I relate to him for a different reason: he represents a part of many of us that wants to matter—to help—to make the world a little less harsh for people who are suffering.
I relate to Max… even though I could never be him for various reasons. I’m not a hospital medical director. I’m not running through hallways fixing departments. I’m not going to “hero my way” through broken systems with speeches and authority. I'm a 78 year old retired Engineer/Patent Searcher that has been around illnesses all my life.
But I do feel something real when I watch that show:
I want to be part of something like that—something that helps people in the real world. Not just as a viewer. Not just as a writer. Not just as someone with ideas. I want to be part of the change.
The gap that keeps pulling me back
What the show captures (even with Hollywood shortcuts) is the truth that so many patients live with:
Most of the struggle happens between doctor visits.
People with chronic pain, chronic illness, disability, long-term stress, or limited healthcare access don’t just need a diagnosis—they need a way to live day to day.
- a Patient Listener
- what to track
- what patterns might matter
- how to prepare for short appointments
- how to advocate without getting dismissed
- how to make sense of symptoms at 2 AM (Super Symptom Checker)
- how to stay emotionally steady while the body is doing something scary
This is the “care gap” that I can’t stop thinking about and that I and many others live with in our current healthcare system.
Why the biopsychosocial model feels like the missing operating system
For chronic conditions, biology is only part of the picture.
Pain and symptoms are shaped by the nervous system, stress load, sleep, environment, relationships, meaning, fear, isolation, work pressures, resources, and the body’s learned patterns over time.
That’s why I’m deeply drawn to the biopsychosocial approach—not as theory, but as a practical way to help real people stop feeling lost.
GenAI as a “safe workaround” (not a replacement)
Here’s where my work has been heading:
I’ve written about how tools like ChatGPT can serve as a 24/7 support layer—not as a doctor, and not as a substitute for care, but as something that helps people:
- organize their story
- track symptoms and triggers
- create a one-page brief for appointments
- translate confusing information into plain language
- build health literacy
- reduce panic and “doom scrolling”
- and decide when something is urgent vs watch-and-track
For people with limited access to healthcare, that “between visits” support can be the difference between coping and collapsing.
I'm working on a book about how using the BioPsychoSocial Model patients/people can help themselves manage their own chronic pain/conditions 24/7 and only go to the doctor as needed or wanted. A follow-up book will be something like How to Use ChatGPT to Manage Chronic Pain/Conditions using the BioPsychoSocial Model. Stay tuned for these.
But I don’t want to only write about this
I’ll keep writing practical “how-to” books—because that’s one way I know how to help and scale support.
Here's my book series so far - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FXHL6712
But what I really want to say in this article is bigger than my books:
I want to connect with people building the future of care—especially for chronic conditions and underserved communities.
If you’re doing any of the following, I’d love to meet you:
- creating patient-facing AI tools that are safe, humble, and useful
- working in chronic care navigation, care management, or health coaching
- building systems that honor the whole person (not just symptoms)
- exploring narrative medicine, patient storytelling, and “the life context”
- working in safety-net settings where the need is constant and resources are limited
- producing, writing, or consulting for health stories that want to get the future right
My ask (and my offer)
I’m not posting this to “promote.” I’m posting it because I want to find like-minded people.
I want to learn what you’re building. I want to contribute where I can—ideas, patient-advocacy frameworks, biopsychosocial models, practical templates, prompts, structured logs, and the “patient brief” tools that help real clinicians and real patients communicate better.
And if there’s a “New Amsterdam: Tomorrow” future being imagined anywhere—inside healthcare, startups, nonprofits, public health, or media— I’d like to be part of that dream, not just write about it.
So I’ll ask it the Max way: How can I help? And maybe also: Who else is already trying? Let’s connect.
(Note: I’m not a healthcare professional. My work is educational/supportive and focused on helping people organize, reflect, track, and communicate—never replacing medical care.)
#NewAmsterdam #Biopsychosocial #ChronicPain #ChronicIllness #PatientAdvocacy
#HealthEquity #AIinHealthcare #DigitalHealth #NarrativeMedicine #FutureOfCare
@DavidSchulner @Eric D. Manheimer @NBC @Universal Television
