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• Atul Gawande and the Art of Medical Writing

  Don’t read this. That is, if you have a limited amount of time for reading today, I’d rather you read Atul Gawande’s essay on end-of-life care in this month’s New Yorker than this blog.But if you can spare a little time, I’ll be focusing on some of the Read More... Posted Fri, Aug 13 2010 9:01 PM by Bob Wachter | 9 Comments Filed under: Quality Improvement, Hospital Care, Ambulatory/Primary Care, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage, Medical Ethics

• Badness in Baltimore: Can Peer Review Catch Rogue Doctors?

  A couple of months ago, a Baltimore reporter called to get my take on a scandal at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Towson, an upscale suburb. A rainmaker cardiologist there, Dr. Mark Midei, had been accused of placing more than 500 stents in patients who didn’t Read More... Posted Tue, May 11 2010 6:42 AM by Bob Wachter | 15 Comments Filed under: Quality Improvement, Hospital Care, Quality Measurement, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage, Medical Ethics

• Gawande Nails It on Healthcare Costs

  I just finished reading Atul Gawande’s June 1st New Yorker piece – it's the Talk of the Health Policy Town – on healthcare’s “Cost Conundrum.” Like most of Atul’s work, the article is lyrical, powerful, insightful, and correct.As you’ve probably heard, Read More... Posted Fri, Jun 05 2009 10:55 PM by Bob Wachter | 4 Comments Filed under: Quality Improvement, Hospital Care, Efficiency, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage, Medical Ethics

• On Quality Measurement, Babies, and Bathwater

  Quality Measurement mavens are reeling these days, as a result of the air being let out of high-profile measures such as tight glucose control, door-to-antibiotic time, and beta-blockers. Some critics have even suggested that we put a moratorium on new Read More... Posted Thu, Apr 16 2009 7:17 AM by Bob Wachter | 6 Comments Filed under: Quality Improvement, Hospital Care, Pay-for-performance, Transparency and Reporting, Quality Measurement, 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

• 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. Read More... Posted Thu, Aug 14 2008 3:07 AM by Bob Wachter | 0 Comments Filed under: Quality Improvement, Hospital Care, Transparency and Reporting, Quality Measurement, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage

• Is Medicare’s “No Pay for Errors” Plan a Good Idea?

  In this month’s issue of the Joint Commission Journal of Quality and Patient Safety, I (with UCSF’s Adams Dudley and the American Hospital Association's Nancy Foster) tackle this provocative question. The answer may surprise you: yes (probably). The devil Read More... Posted Mon, Feb 11 2008 7:34 AM by Bob Wachter | 2 Comments Filed under: Quality Improvement, Hospital Care, Pay-for-performance, Quality Measurement, Medical Education/Academia, Hospitalists/Hospital Medicine, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Nurses/Nursing, Media/Press Coverage

• Did I Violate Federal Regulations Today? (I Hope So)

  The patient safety and quality movements are precious and fragile. Just as IOM reports I and II spawned these modern, life-saving revolutions, the Federal shutdown of the Hopkins/Michigan checklist program may help extinguish them. After all, Tipping Read More... Posted Wed, Jan 16 2008 7:39 AM by Bob Wachter | 8 Comments Filed under: Quality Improvement, Hospital Care, Quality Measurement, Medical Education/Academia, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage

• Bureaucracy Run Amok: Can Checklists Kill?

  As you may know, I’ve argued that that the quality and safety of healthcare have traditionally been underregulated. But regulators are like patients with Parkinson’s: it’s hard to get them unglued, but once they’re moving, it’s hard to stop them. Welcome Read More... Posted Fri, Jan 11 2008 4:16 AM by Bob Wachter | 10 Comments Filed under: Quality Improvement, Hospital Care, Quality Measurement, Medical Education/Academia, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage

• A Nordstrom To-Do List: Tie, Slacks, a Little V. Tach?

  Great quote by USC cardiologist Leslie Saxon (a reporter reached her on her cell phone as Leslie was shopping) on this week’s NEJM study on delayed defibrillation: “You’re better off having your arrest [here] at Nordstrom [than in a hospital]… because Read More... Posted Mon, Jan 07 2008 4:09 AM by Bob Wachter | 0 Comments Filed under: Quality Improvement, Hospital Care, Medical Education/Academia, Hospitalists/Hospital Medicine, Information Technology, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Industry/Pharma, Nurses/Nursing, Media/Press Coverage