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• Transparency and Reporting

• 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

• 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

• 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 | 5 Comments Filed under: Quality Measurement, Medical Education/Academia, Diagnosis/Clinical Reasoning, Information Technology, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Industry/Pharma, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage

• Oprah, Obama, Putin, Springsteen… and Pronovost

  Last week, Time Magazine named the 100 most influential people in the world. Among the luminaries was Dr. Peter Pronovost of Johns Hopkins. I thought it was an inspired choice. The modern patient safety field has been blessed with a number of important Read More... Posted Sun, May 11 2008 7:28 AM by Bob Wachter | 2 Comments Filed under: Quality Measurement, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, 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

• 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