March 2009 - Posts

• ICU Glycemic Control: Another Can’t Miss Quality Measure Bites the Dust

  A disconcerting pattern has emerged: a blockbuster study finds that a certain practice leads to improved outcomes. Large national organizations codify the practice into a quality measure, forcing widespread adoption. Later studies prove the practice to Read More... Posted Mon, Mar 30 2009 7:03 AM by Bob Wachter | 6 Comments Filed under: Quality Improvement, Hospital Care, Pay-for-performance, Transparency and Reporting, Quality Measurement, Nurses/Nursing, Health Policy

• The PSA Story: The Triumph of Science Over Common Sense

  My father, who celebrated his 79th birthday yesterday, is many things: eccentric, nearly deaf (though he attributes this to my mom being a “low talker”), hilarious, crotchety, and a true mensch. But he’s neither incontinent nor impotent.It might have Read More... Posted Sat, Mar 21 2009 7:36 AM by Bob Wachter | 9 Comments Filed under: Diagnosis/Clinical Reasoning, Ambulatory/Primary Care, Health Policy

• Today’s NEJM Hospitalist Study: What’s the News?

  A paper in today’s New England Journal proves what we all know – the hospitalist field is the only thing growing faster than the national debt. Even though that’s not news, this elegant biopsy of the Medicare database offers some new insights about our Read More... Posted Fri, Mar 13 2009 6:14 AM by Bob Wachter | 3 Comments Filed under: Hospital Care, Medical Education/Academia, Hospitalists/Hospital Medicine, Ambulatory/Primary Care