Medicare is now reporting actual risk-adjusted mortality rates for pneumonia, MI, and heart failure. The topic must be important, since “Talk of the Nation” spent 30 minutes yesterday interviewing Don Berwick and me about it… on the day of Hillary’s speech! To listen to the show, click here. Also, here’s an article from USA Today [...]
Archive | August, 2008
My Colonoscopy… And Dave Barry’s
When I launched this blog, I vowed not to dwell on personal matters – you’ve heard nothing about my older son’s lab work (remarkable), my younger son’s cartooning (awesome), or my golf game (never mind). But I simply must tell you about my colonoscopy today. Well, actually I won’t. But I wanted to raise the [...]
Is it “Macaca” Time in Healthcare?
August 11th was the 2nd anniversary of the epic implosion of George Allen’s presidential campaign, the first defeat at the hands of YouTube. Two recent videos of unattended patients dying in ER waiting rooms leave me wondering whether healthcare has also entered the YouTube era. Remember the George Allen fiasco? A 20-year-old Indian-American named S.R. [...]
Post-Vacation Potpourri: Items Interesting, International, and Ineffably Sad
Just returning from a work-acation, including a talk in Buenos Aires. Today I’ll briefly cover a few items: Medicare’s final “no pay” list; patient safety in Argentina; a great post on hospital finances; and one of the saddest things I’ve ever experienced. First, the final “no pay” list. I’m not sure if this was CMS’s [...]
Is “Patient-Centeredness” a Healthcare MacGuffin?
Last week’s ABIM Foundation Summer Forum focused on patient-centered care… and who could be against that? But is patient-centered care just a healthcare MacGuffin? What’s a MacGuffin, you ask? In a spectacular talk at the Forum, Michael Richardson of Chicago’s Hines VA reminded us that the MacGuffin was one of Alfred Hitchcock’s favorite directorial strategies. [...]
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