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• 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 | 7 Comments Filed under: Hospital Care, Pay-for-performance, Transparency and Reporting, Quality Measurement, Information Technology, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage

• Resident Duty Hours and Patient Safety: Did The IOM Get It Right?

  The Institute of Medicine just released its long-awaited report on trainee duty hours. It is well researched and balanced, and its recommendations appropriately reflect what we know vs. what we believe. Now the fun begins.Let’s start with a little background, Read More... Posted Sat, Dec 06 2008 5:23 PM by Bob Wachter | 10 Comments Filed under: Hospital Care, Medical Education/Academia, Hospitalists/Hospital Medicine, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage

• Can a Hospital Afford to Share Its Warts With the Public?

  Paul Levy, the blogging CEO at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, has staked his – and his hospital’s – reputation on a culture of transparency. Although no doubt partly driven by Paul’s ethical compass, he must also hope that his unique brand Read More... Posted Sun, Nov 02 2008 4:56 PM by Bob Wachter | 1 Comments Filed under: Hospital Care, Transparency and Reporting, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage

• A Shout Out to Adam Singer, Physician Entrepreneur of the Year

  Modern Physician just named Adam Singer, the founder of IPC-The Hospitalist Company, its first annual Physician Entrepreneur of the Year. Adam and I don’t always see eye to eye, but I want to congratulate him and highlight some of his contributions.When Read More... Posted Tue, Oct 07 2008 7:39 AM by Bob Wachter | 8 Comments Filed under: Hospital Care, Hospitalists/Hospital Medicine, Information Technology, Industry/Pharma, 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

• 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 Read More... Posted Tue, Aug 19 2008 8:00 AM by Bob Wachter | 1 Comments Filed under: Hospital Care, Transparency and Reporting, Information Technology, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, 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

• Another Case of Wrong Site Surgery: Are We Averting Our Eyes From Some of the Root Causes?

  Yet another case of wrong-side surgery, this one at Boston’s Beth-Israel Deaconess Hospital. Though CEO Paul Levy does a nice job discussing the case on his blog, I’ll focus on two aspects Paul neglects: the role of production pressures in errors, and Read More... Posted Wed, Jul 09 2008 7:52 AM by Bob Wachter | 12 Comments Filed under: Hospital Care, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, 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 | 9 Comments Filed under: Hospital Care, Information Technology, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Industry/Pharma, Nurses/Nursing, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage

• Snooping At Britney’s Chart: Why Should Docs and Nurses Have Different Rules?

  Should doctors and nurses be subject to different penalties for precisely the same infraction? Of course not. Are they? Sure. Just ask Britney Spears. Britney was hospitalized at UCLA at least twice in the past few years – once when she gave birth to Read More... Posted Sun, Apr 20 2008 8:53 PM by Bob Wachter | 2 Comments Filed under: Hospital Care, Information Technology, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Nurses/Nursing, Media/Press Coverage, Medical Ethics

• 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

• 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