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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

• Big Brother Arrives: Monitoring Patient Safety Compliance By Remote Video

  Today came the announcement that Suzanne Delbanco, founding director of the Leapfrog Group, has assumed the presidency of a company that tracks compliance with safety and quality practices via remote video. Big Brother, meet the Joint Commission.The report, Read More... Posted Tue, Sep 23 2008 8:18 AM by Bob Wachter | 10 Comments Filed under: Hospital Care, Transparency and Reporting, Quality Measurement, Information Technology, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Industry/Pharma

• 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

• 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 | 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

• 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

• Atul Gawande's "The Checklist"

  Let's make this short and sweet. In this week's New Yorker, Atul Gawande describes Peter Pronovost's crusade to improve the safety of intensive care through the use of checklists. If it sounds dull, it's not. In fact, it is thrilling and inspiring. Gawande Read More... Posted Sun, Dec 09 2007 8:11 AM by Bob Wachter | 5 Comments Filed under: Quality Improvement, Hospital Care, Quality Measurement, Information Technology, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Nurses/Nursing

• The Weekly Roundup…

  Stuff this week that caught my eye: Does medical tourism harm the natives? Are all those CT scans destroying more than our budgets? Are nocturnalists at risk for more than decubs? Will Medicare need to cut hospital payments to fuel P4P? Answers: yes, Read More... Posted Fri, Nov 30 2007 9:45 PM by Bob Wachter | 0 Comments Filed under: Hospital Care, Pay-for-performance, Transparency and Reporting, Quality Measurement, Hospitalists/Hospital Medicine, Diagnosis/Clinical Reasoning, Information Technology, Ambulatory/Primary Care, Nurses/Nursing, Health Policy, Outsourcing/Medical Tourism

• Rating Doctors Like Restaurants

  So Zagat will now be rating doctors, using the methods it perfected helping you find the best sushi in Brooklyn Heights. What’s next, Consumer Reports rating grad schools? Fodor rating auto mechanics? Whatever you think of Zagat’s cross-dressing, it again Read More... Posted Sun, Oct 28 2007 5:57 AM by Bob Wachter | 4 Comments Filed under: Hospital Care, Transparency and Reporting, Quality Measurement, Medical Education/Academia, Hospitalists/Hospital Medicine, Information Technology, Ambulatory/Primary Care

• Can Computerized Decision Support Get Docs to Toe the Line on Quality?

  A humorous and telling story about quality measurement, decision support, and human nature: I was visiting professor at a very good academic medical center a year or so ago. On these trips, one of the fun things I get to do is meet with the residents. Read More... Posted Wed, Oct 10 2007 3:47 AM by Bob Wachter | 2 Comments Filed under: Quality Improvement, Hospital Care, Transparency and Reporting, Quality Measurement, Medical Education/Academia, Information Technology