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• What's Behind Today's Primary Care Crisis: You Don't Know the Half of It

  If you’ve ever been on a diet, you know that it really helps to keep a food log. Seeing your consumption chronicled in one place is illuminating – and often explains why those love handles aren’t melting away despite two hours on the treadmill each week.In Read More... Posted Wed, Apr 28 2010 6:00 PM by Bob Wachter | 7 Comments Filed under: Efficiency, Information Technology, Nurses/Nursing, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage

• December 1, 2009: The Patient Safety Field Turns Ten

  On December 1, 1999, the Institute of Medicine released a report entitled To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System. Although its authors hoped to spark a national movement, they had little cause for optimism. After all, early efforts by advocates Read More... Posted Tue, Dec 01 2009 7:22 AM by Bob Wachter | 4 Comments Filed under: Hospital Care, Information Technology, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage

• Is Healthcare IT Ready for its Big Coming Out Party?

  In 2001, when my colleagues and I ranked nearly 100 patient safety practices on the strength of their supporting evidence (for an AHRQ report), healthcare IT didn’t make the top 25. We took a lot of heat for, as one prominent patient safety advocate chided Read More... Posted Sun, Oct 25 2009 9:15 PM by Bob Wachter | 7 Comments Filed under: Hospital Care, Information Technology, Ambulatory/Primary Care, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Industry/Pharma, Health Policy

• My Interview on The Health Care Blog

  If for some reason you haven't gotten enough of me on Wachter's World, I just did a long, fun interview with Matthew Holt on the always-interesting THCB. We cover patient safety, the future of IT, the demise of primary care, Death Panels, and more. I Read More... Posted Wed, Aug 19 2009 3:48 PM by Bob Wachter | 2 Comments Filed under: Quality Improvement, Hospital Care, Transparency and Reporting, Quality Measurement, Efficiency, Medical Education/Academia, Hospitalists/Hospital Medicine, Information Technology, Ambulatory/Primary Care, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Health Policy

• A Remarkable Interview: Obama on Healthcare

  I hope you had a chance to read David Leonhardt’s interview with President Obama in last Sunday’s NY Times Magazine. The feel was that of hanging out with two really smart friends discussing the issues of the day over beers. What a treat! In addition Read More... Posted Sun, May 10 2009 6:57 PM by Bob Wachter | 7 Comments Filed under: Quality Improvement, Transparency and Reporting, Quality Measurement, Efficiency, Information Technology, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage, Medical Ethics

• “Mr. Obama, Tear Down These (Hospital) Walls”: Readmissions in Context

  I like readmissions. Well, that didn’t come out quite right, did it? What I mean is that I like focusing on readmissions as a potentially actionable quality measure. I believe that it’s possible to prevent many readmissions, thereby improving quality Read More... Posted Sat, Apr 04 2009 12:36 AM by Bob Wachter | 10 Comments Filed under: Quality Improvement, Hospital Care, Transparency and Reporting, Quality Measurement, Efficiency, Hospitalists/Hospital Medicine, Information Technology, Ambulatory/Primary Care, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Health Policy

• Are We Finally Entering the Golden Age of Healthcare Transparency?

  When will patients start reviewing quality data before choosing their doctors and hospitals? The answer has been “soon” for several years, but “soon” may finally be the right answer. If you doubt it, check out the Commonwealth Fund’s new site, “Why Not Read More... Posted Sat, Dec 27 2008 3:15 PM by Bob Wachter | 8 Comments Filed under: Hospital Care, Pay-for-performance, Transparency and Reporting, Quality Measurement, Information Technology, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage

• NPR’s “Talk of the Nation,” Featuring Don Berwick and Yours Truly

  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! Read More... Posted Wed, Aug 27 2008 7:08 PM by Bob Wachter | 2 Comments Filed under: Quality Improvement, Hospital Care, Transparency and Reporting, Quality Measurement, Information Technology, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage

• Will Knols and Blogs Upend the Cozy World of Medical Publishing?

  Yesterday, Google launched Knol, immediately branded as Google’s answer to Wikipedia. As healthcare advisor to the project, I’ll say a few words about Knol, but focus on how it – and other forms of electronic self-publishing – may signal the end of medical Read More... Posted Fri, Jul 25 2008 6:03 AM by Bob Wachter | 2 Comments Filed under: Medical Education/Academia, Information Technology, Industry/Pharma, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage

• The Best and Worst of Times For “Infection Preventionists”

  As I mentioned in my last post, these should be the best of times for "Infection Preventionists" (formerly known as Infection Control Officers). After years of trying to get someone – anyone – to pay attention to their work, their day in the sun has finally Read More... Posted Mon, Jun 23 2008 5:51 AM by Bob Wachter | 1 Comments Filed under: Quality Improvement, Hospital Care, Quality Measurement, Hospitalists/Hospital Medicine, Information Technology, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Health Policy

• Why Diagnostic Errors Don’t Get Any Respect… And What Can Be Done About It

  I gave a keynote yesterday to the first-ever meeting on “Diagnostic Error in Medicine.” I hope the confab helps put diagnostic errors on the safety map. But, as Ricky Ricardo would say, the experts and advocates in the audience have some ‘splainin’ to Read More... Posted Mon, Jun 02 2008 4:20 AM by Bob Wachter | 6 Comments Filed under: Quality Measurement, Medical Education/Academia, Diagnosis/Clinical Reasoning, Information Technology, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Industry/Pharma, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage

• The Funniest Satire on Interoperability You've Ever Seen (Trust Me)

  There is nothing better than a good satire to capture certain (uncomfortable) truths – just ask any of the presidential candidates after an episode of Saturday Night Live. So check out this hilarious spoof on information technology interoperability. As Read More... Posted Thu, May 29 2008 8:54 AM by Bob Wachter | 2 Comments Filed under: Information Technology, Industry/Pharma, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage

• Should Hospitals Install Bar Coding or CPOE First? Why I’ve Changed My Tune

  This is one of the most commonly asked questions in IT World, and my answer has always been “CPOE first” – largely because that has always been David Bates’s (the world’s leading IT/safety researcher) answer. But I’ve changed my mind. Here’s why. Before Read More... Posted Fri, May 02 2008 9:00 PM by Bob Wachter | 10 Comments Filed under: Hospital Care, Information Technology, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Industry/Pharma, Nurses/Nursing, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage

• Should Patient Satisfaction Scores Be Adjusted for Where Patients Shop?

  Last week, Medicare added patient satisfaction data to its hospital reporting website. This is progress, but it raises an interesting question: should patient satisfaction scores be case-mix adjusted? The motivation to include patient satisfaction data Read More... Posted Sun, Apr 13 2008 4:03 AM by Bob Wachter | 1 Comments Filed under: Hospital Care, Pay-for-performance, Transparency and Reporting, Quality Measurement, Hospitalists/Hospital Medicine, Information Technology, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage

• More Consequences of IT: The Disappearance of Radiology Rounds

  When I was a med student, the Beating Heart of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) was not the CEO’s suite, the neurosurgeon’s OR, or the Dean’s lair. It was the seat of one Wallace Miller, Sr., in the decidedly unglamorous Chest Reading Read More... Posted Thu, Jan 31 2008 6:11 AM by Bob Wachter | 12 Comments Filed under: Hospital Care, Medical Education/Academia, Information Technology, Health Policy, Outsourcing/Medical Tourism