Everyone is accountable

The more I read these stories about Elizabeth Holmes and her dealings at Theranos, the more I am frustrated by how the healthcare system keeps passing the accountability buck.

Theranos failed to perform or meet certain expectations. Did they make a mistake? I think not. Failure is when a project or initiative doesn’t work towards getting you towards your goal. A mistake is when you repeat that same failure. Holmes and the Theranos team have relentlessly tried to correct course to make good with their investors and lead customer.

Is that good enough? It seems not.

Because Theranos failed, Holmes is now the only person held accountable. Its her head on the chopping block.

Why are they not firing the CEO of Walgreen’s for failing to do their own due diligence? And why are we not demanding the resignation of top regulators for letting Theranos to go as far as they have? Or the VC-investment community for blowing up Holmes’ and Theranos’ valuation to the billions? Or tech media for exploiting that news to get more clicks?

Accountability is just being passed around until we blame this unfortunate situation on the weakest target. It’s too easy.

I don’t blame Theranos or Holmes. I blame the system. Take responsibility for your own failures so they don’t turn into mistakes.