November 2010 - The Health Care Blog

Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria in Hospitals: A Time for Action

By ARJUN SRINIVASAN and RAMANAN LAXMINARAYAN Every few years there are reports of antibiotic resistant microbes that prompt a series of predictions about “the end of antibiotics.” It happened in the 90s with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis and then...

Published Wed, Nov 17 2010 6:36 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Announcements

S.M.A.R.T. Objectives: An Essential Step in Strategy Formulation

By MATT MODLESKI We are often asked to weigh in on organizational strategy when the proverbial “house is on fire” and a client’s business is experiencing challenges. Our first question to the CEO and his/her staff once we begin our... Read More...

Published Wed, Nov 17 2010 4:00 AM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: ACOs, Matt Modleski

Health Reform Won’t Fix the Real Problem: Unemployment

By GEORGE PILLARI While the effects of persistently high unemployment have surfaced in the shape of reduced consumer spending, shrunken tax rolls and a host of social problems, there is yet another harsh reality lurking in the shadows. Hospitals, already...

Published Tue, Nov 16 2010 4:37 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: health care reform, Health insurance, Employers, George Pillar

Hub's List

By HERBERT MATHEWSON, MD CELL PHONES DON’T CAUSE CANCER- (1) Despite ample scientific evidence to the contrary much buzz continues about cell phone usage causing brain cancer. Why is that ? A recent review in Scientific American magazine points out.....

Published Tue, Nov 16 2010 3:00 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: evidenced-based medicine, Herbert Mathewson

Hospital Discharge Without a Net

By JESSIE GRUMAN By the time I reached the sixth day of my hospitalization for stomach cancer surgery, I was antsy to go home and I quizzed each nurse and physician who came into my room about what must happen... Read More...

Published Tue, Nov 16 2010 1:00 PM by The Health Care Blog

Filed under: Jessie Gruman

EHRs in Surgical Practices

By JOHN HALAMKA I was recently asked to offer advice about implementing EHRs in surgical practices. Here are the lessons learned from our Massachusetts EHR rollout experts. 1) . Surgical practices are challenging in general because they frequently use...

Published Tue, Nov 16 2010 4:21 AM by The Health Care Blog

Twas' the Night Before Residency

By VIPAN NIKORE Patients from all around the world travel to the Cleveland Clinic for their medical care. Often it is the last stop in a chain of hospitals that patients have been admitted to in order to solve a... Read More...

Published Mon, Nov 15 2010 10:40 AM by The Health Care Blog

The Measurement Question

By VIPAN NIKORE I sat at home with a sense of relief. I had just finished my first month of residency - a grueling Cardiology month with very little sleep or food. I now finally had my first weekend off.... Read More...

Published Mon, Nov 15 2010 8:00 AM by The Health Care Blog

Unhealthy Skepticism

By JOHN MOORE There remains an unhealthy level of skepticism in the market as to whether or not consumers will use a personal health record (PHR). While a certain level of skepticism is healthy in any market, the level to... Read More...

Published Mon, Nov 15 2010 4:53 AM by The Health Care Blog

The HIT Parade

By LISA SUENNEN The Cleveland Clinic recently published an annual Top 10 list of what their leadership believes to be the most significant advances in medicine in each of the last five years. In 2007-2008 all of the items on... Read More...

Published Mon, Nov 15 2010 4:06 AM by The Health Care Blog

Massachusetts has the best health care in America? Prove It!

By PAUL LEVY A well regarded local hospital administrator last week said, "There is lots of evidence that Massachusetts health care is the best in the country." The context was a discussion in which it was pointed out that health... Read More...

Published Mon, Nov 15 2010 4:00 AM by The Health Care Blog

The Road to Repeal?

By RICHARD REECE, MD Emboldened by their victory in the Midterms, many Republicans are calling for repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). How likely is it that we'll see changes any time soon? Probably not very.... Read...

Published Sat, Nov 13 2010 6:10 PM by The Health Care Blog

Paper Is Good … Pass It On

By ALEX EPSTEIN I nearly dropped my spoon into my fibery breakfast cereal last Sunday, because as I was reading the paper, I noticed a a full page ad that read in part… “It’s Easier to Learn on Paper” Seems... Read More...

Published Sat, Nov 13 2010 1:43 PM by The Health Care Blog

Does This ACO Thing Really Mean We Need to be ‘Accountable’?

By VINCE KURATIS Last month The American College of Physicians (ACP) released a well-reasoned and thorough position paper, The Patient-Centered Medical Home Neighbor: The Interface of the Patient-Centered Medical Home with Specialty/Subspecialty Practices...

Published Fri, Nov 12 2010 5:18 PM by The Health Care Blog

How Hedge Funds Get Inside Information From Doctors About Clinical Trials

By DAVID E. WILLIAMS Last week’s arrest of a French doctor for leaking information about a clinical trial to a hedge fund is disturbing, but the alleged activity is neither new nor particularly rare. I’m going to describe how the... Read More...

Published Fri, Nov 12 2010 4:23 AM by The Health Care Blog