The Blog Rounds
Too busy rounding on patients to keep up with the blogosphere? We’re doing the surfing for you in this first monthly roundup of what your colleagues are buzzing about in cyberspace.
First up: The Happy Hospitalist, who was not happy about Medco CEO Dave Snow’s support of treatment protocols, had the following to say last week: “This guy doesn’t get it. Cookbook medicine is but a tiny fraction of care. Perhaps 5% or less. I can admit a hemorrhagic stroke, follow standardized protocols, and the next 10 patients will have 10 different permutations of care. I can follow the guidelines to a T and every single patient’s comorbid conditions will add layers upon layers of complication to the management.”
On SHM’s Hospitalist Leader blog, former SHM CEO Rusty Holman touched upon another frustration in the workplace: New hires who complain that “this isn’t what I signed up for.” Dr. Holman’s advice? When hiring explain that “the job you take today is likely— no, is certain— to be different a year from now.” Dr. Holman assures practice managers that “as a leader, you will never be faulted for telling the truth.”
Speaking of leaders, Health Beat’s Maggie Mahar offered her thoughts on President Obama’s inauguration speech: “When President Obama said, ‘The time has come to put away childish things,’ I couldn’t help but recall healthcare reformer Don Berwick, sounding discouraged last winter, as he said, ‘Maybe this country just isn’t mature enough for healthcare reform.’ Berwick, who is the president of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, was referring to the fact that at times, it seems that everyone wants healthcare for all— but no one wants to pay for it.”
