Friday, November 5, 2010
Why I've been away...
To all my loyal friends and followers, I apologize for the time that has elapsed since my last post. I've been in the process of overhauling my website and the changes are almost complete. Stay tuned...the new site should be active later this weekend. See you soon!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Health Reform Explained in 9 Minutes...
I am constantly being asked my opinion about health reform and I am ususally happy to share it. However, it is probably far more productive for one to become individually knowledgeable about what health reform is trying to accomplish versus merely collecting opinions to support our own individual biases about the subject. With that in mind and given that most people will resist the urge to read the 1,000 pages of legislation devoted to this topic, this clip does a pretty good job of summarizing health reform at a high level in just under nine minutes.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Undercover Boss?
On a few occasions, I have watched the CBS TV show, "Undercover Boss" with intrigue. For those who haven't seen the show, the basic premise involves the CEO of a large organization going into disquise and working with the front-line employees doing the daily jobs that make their organizations tick. Through this process they get to see first-hand the good, bad, and ugly about their organizations and the people who work within them. As the show concludes, the CEO is revealed to the employees they worked along-side and the CEO pledges to make changes to various aspects of the company that they saw needing improvement while recognizing some of the unsung heroes they encountered.
At first, I was shocked to see how many employees could work side-by-side with their CEO and not have a clue as to who they were - not to mention with camera crew in tote following them around! But then I realized that these are large national organizations and many of these employees have likely never had the chance to meet, talk, or interact with their company leadership before and so maybe that wasn't so far fetched to expect. I was also interested to see how some of the employees in different episodes treated their new "trainee" as they described to their boss unknowingly the job and culture of their company. Through both good and bad examples, it becomes very clear to see how every company is a representation of their people and not just their product.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Comments....Lost (and found) in cyberspace!
Just wanted to post a quick apology to those of you have posted or made any comments over the past several weeks. As I logged into my account tonight I encountered 8 posts that I had not seen or acted on in previous logins (most likely user error on my part!). With that being said, I started this blog to spur conversation and I greatly appreciate the comments and thoughts you have to share. Please keep them coming and hopefully I won't have another comment time warp! For those who have not made a comment yet - it's easy - just click on the link at the bottom of each post that says "Make/Read Comments" and let me know what you think - Thanks for reading (and responding)!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Jewish Hospital to perform double hand transplant - Follow live on twitter!
For all those interested in learning more about pioneering medical care, be sure to follow this post from our Marketing and PR department....
Kleinert Kutz and University of Louisville hand surgeons are preparing to perform a double hand transplant at the Jewish Hospital Hand Care Center. The procedure will be chronicled live on the social networking site Twitter, providing real time updates of the innovative procedure.
It is the first time the team at Jewish Hospital, Kleinert Kutz and UofL have performed a double hand transplant and the first time the procedure has ever been tweeted live. We expect to begin tweeting the procedure at approximately 7 p.m. and it is expected to last 18 – 20 hours. Updates will be posted at www.twitter.com/jewishhospital. In addition, information can be found at www.handtransplant.com.
A partnership of physicians and researchers at Jewish Hospital Hand Care Center, Kleinert Kutz and the University of Louisville developed the pioneering procedure. Warren C. Breidenbach, III, M.D., with Kleinert Kutz and assistant clinical professor of surgery at the University of Louisville will lead the team of hand surgeons, hand fellows and anesthesiology team.
Michael Marvin, M.D., director, Jewish Hospital Transplant Center and Rosemary Ouesph, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Director of Kidney Transplantation, Kidney Disease Program at the University of Louisville manage the immunosuppressive therapy for all six hand transplant patients performed at Jewish Hospital to date.
Kentuckiana Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA) is coordinating the hand donation with the family and hospital. Without the help of KODA and the family, this procedure could not have taken place.
Kleinert Kutz and University of Louisville hand surgeons are preparing to perform a double hand transplant at the Jewish Hospital Hand Care Center. The procedure will be chronicled live on the social networking site Twitter, providing real time updates of the innovative procedure.
It is the first time the team at Jewish Hospital, Kleinert Kutz and UofL have performed a double hand transplant and the first time the procedure has ever been tweeted live. We expect to begin tweeting the procedure at approximately 7 p.m. and it is expected to last 18 – 20 hours. Updates will be posted at www.twitter.com/jewishhospital. In addition, information can be found at www.handtransplant.com.
A partnership of physicians and researchers at Jewish Hospital Hand Care Center, Kleinert Kutz and the University of Louisville developed the pioneering procedure. Warren C. Breidenbach, III, M.D., with Kleinert Kutz and assistant clinical professor of surgery at the University of Louisville will lead the team of hand surgeons, hand fellows and anesthesiology team.
Michael Marvin, M.D., director, Jewish Hospital Transplant Center and Rosemary Ouesph, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Director of Kidney Transplantation, Kidney Disease Program at the University of Louisville manage the immunosuppressive therapy for all six hand transplant patients performed at Jewish Hospital to date.
Kentuckiana Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA) is coordinating the hand donation with the family and hospital. Without the help of KODA and the family, this procedure could not have taken place.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
The White Coat Ceremony - A time of celebration and reflection
This afternoon I had the distinct pleasure to participate in the University of Louisville School of Medicine's White Coat ceremony. For those not familiar, the White Coat ceremony is a celebration recognizing the first day of the incoming class of medical students and concludes with the students being presented their first "white coat" in recognition of their officially being accepted into the medical profession as a doctor in training.
Today we celebrated the incoming class of 2014 as 160 new students were adorned with their first white coat. I have been able to participate in a number of these ceremonies over the years and they always cause me to reflect back on the true meaning of our roles in the medical profession. We heard from a number of speakers that spoke to these future doctors about their roles and responsibilities as they embark upon becoming a physician. The Provost praised the incoming students for their achievement and accomplishments, yet reminded them that while they will become great scientists in medicine, that they also must be humanists in order to truly heal and treat the patients they will encounter. The Dean of the medical school reflected on several lessons to learn including the responsibility and humility of becoming a physician, and the pride and knowledge that coincides with becoming part of an academic teaching institution. And perhaps most touching, we heard from a second year medical student who shared his experience of when he first realized that he wasn't just a student, but a doctor in training as he recounted a very personal experience of losing a lifelong friend to a very rare and debilitating cancer at the young age of 24.
Throughout the ceremony, I couldn't help but look out into the audience at these 160 future doctors and imagine the thoughts that they must be going through their minds. The sense of pride and accomplishment of being accepted into medical school after years of hard work and schooling, the hopes and dreams of what their lives will become as they complete their training, and the sense of anxiety and fear of the work and responsibility that lies ahead for each and every one of them. I also thought back to the early days when I started my medical career as an Emergency Medical Technician. Back then I wasn't concerned about politics, budgets, staffing levels and morale, insurance, health reform or any of the number of things that typically occupy my time and thoughts these days. It was about helping people in their time of need, plain and simple.
Much has changed in my life since those early days, just as much will change for these future doctors. Yet despite all of the political and financial realities within which we must operate, my hope is that they will never stray too far from the thoughts and reasons that brought them to this point in their careers, and that they help all of us continue to remember why we were first called into this profession of healing.
The White Coat ceremony finished with the students reciting and taking the pledge of the Declaration of Geneva. For all of my fellow colleagues in the medical profession, I encourage you to also reflect on its significance, especially in light of the challenges we all face today...
Declaration of Geneva
At the time of being admitted as a member of the medical profession, I solemnly pledge myself to consecrate my life to the service of humanity.
I will give to my teachers the respect and gratitude which is their due;
I will practice my profession with conscience and dignity;
The health of my patient will be my first consideration;
I will respect the secrets which are confided in me;
I will maintain by all the means in my power the honor and the noble traditions of the medical profession;
My colleagues will be my brothers and sisters;
I will not permit considerations of religion, nationality, race, gender, politics, socioeconomic standing, or sexual orientation to intervene between my duty and my patient;
I will maintain the utmost respect for human life; even under threat, I will not use my medical knowledge contrary to the laws of humanity.
I make those promises solemnly, freely and upon my honor.
Today we celebrated the incoming class of 2014 as 160 new students were adorned with their first white coat. I have been able to participate in a number of these ceremonies over the years and they always cause me to reflect back on the true meaning of our roles in the medical profession. We heard from a number of speakers that spoke to these future doctors about their roles and responsibilities as they embark upon becoming a physician. The Provost praised the incoming students for their achievement and accomplishments, yet reminded them that while they will become great scientists in medicine, that they also must be humanists in order to truly heal and treat the patients they will encounter. The Dean of the medical school reflected on several lessons to learn including the responsibility and humility of becoming a physician, and the pride and knowledge that coincides with becoming part of an academic teaching institution. And perhaps most touching, we heard from a second year medical student who shared his experience of when he first realized that he wasn't just a student, but a doctor in training as he recounted a very personal experience of losing a lifelong friend to a very rare and debilitating cancer at the young age of 24.
Throughout the ceremony, I couldn't help but look out into the audience at these 160 future doctors and imagine the thoughts that they must be going through their minds. The sense of pride and accomplishment of being accepted into medical school after years of hard work and schooling, the hopes and dreams of what their lives will become as they complete their training, and the sense of anxiety and fear of the work and responsibility that lies ahead for each and every one of them. I also thought back to the early days when I started my medical career as an Emergency Medical Technician. Back then I wasn't concerned about politics, budgets, staffing levels and morale, insurance, health reform or any of the number of things that typically occupy my time and thoughts these days. It was about helping people in their time of need, plain and simple.
Much has changed in my life since those early days, just as much will change for these future doctors. Yet despite all of the political and financial realities within which we must operate, my hope is that they will never stray too far from the thoughts and reasons that brought them to this point in their careers, and that they help all of us continue to remember why we were first called into this profession of healing.
The White Coat ceremony finished with the students reciting and taking the pledge of the Declaration of Geneva. For all of my fellow colleagues in the medical profession, I encourage you to also reflect on its significance, especially in light of the challenges we all face today...
Declaration of Geneva
At the time of being admitted as a member of the medical profession, I solemnly pledge myself to consecrate my life to the service of humanity.
I will give to my teachers the respect and gratitude which is their due;
I will practice my profession with conscience and dignity;
The health of my patient will be my first consideration;
I will respect the secrets which are confided in me;
I will maintain by all the means in my power the honor and the noble traditions of the medical profession;
My colleagues will be my brothers and sisters;
I will not permit considerations of religion, nationality, race, gender, politics, socioeconomic standing, or sexual orientation to intervene between my duty and my patient;
I will maintain the utmost respect for human life; even under threat, I will not use my medical knowledge contrary to the laws of humanity.
I make those promises solemnly, freely and upon my honor.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Thoughts on communication and planning for our future...partnership discussions with University Medical Center and Catholic Health Initiatives
One of my sayings has always been, "in the absence of communication lies rumor" and this topic could serve as the poster example for that saying. Over the past few few months, it has been a rare occasion for me to make it through the hospital without being stopped and asked about rumored talks between our health system and the University of Louisville's hospital (University Medical Center). For the first time, I am now able to publicly acknowledge these rumors and confirm that our leadership has indeed been in conversations with the University of Louisville and Catholic Health Initiatives as more fully described in the statement posted below and on our website today.
The bigger question you may have is why we have not been able to comment up until this point? As you could probably imagine, discussions of this nature are very strategic in nature which makes it difficult to talk about them in an open forum as plans are being developed. Also as expected, when large numbers of people become involved in a planning process, it is also very difficult to keep any discussions confidential for any length of time, especially in a town as connected as Louisville! Together this combination has lead to the rumors that so many of you may have found yourselves confronted with.
With the announcement copied below, I fully expect that people will be speculating and reading into what this might mean for our system and the rationale behind our discussions. In attempts to bring closure to these rumors, I wanted to take this opportunity to make it perfectly clear that no recommendations or decisions have been made as of yet in these partnership discussions. If and when a decision is reached there will certainly be more information to come. What we are trying to accomplish now is to begin sharing information and laying out the rationale for the discussions taking place.
I hope this joint statement announced today can help bring some color to the discussions that have been taking place with our leadership. As always, I welcome and would appreciate your thoughts and input as we continue to navigate along in this journey.
Catholic Health Initiatives, Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's HealthCare
In order to promote our shared commitment to patient care, biomedical research, and the education of the next generation of health care providers, the leadership of the University of Louisville/University Medical Center, Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare (JHSMH) and Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) are holding discussions to explore how they could work together in a more formal partnership to better serve Kentuckians.
These conversations are driven by the fundamental changes that are occurring in clinical medicine, demographics, and the needs of Kentuckians.
Over the next five years, the Healthcare Reform Act will dramatically alter the environment for disease prevention and in which care is delivered. Changes brought by legislative reform will place demands on all healthcare providers that must be addressed proactively to ensure future viability. Practicing physicians, medical educators, scientists, and hospitals will need to work together to find solutions and make substantive and innovative changes in the way care is delivered, students are educated, and new knowledge is generated.
In Kentucky, we must find new and better ways to attack the serious health issues facing our population. We have the undesirable distinction of leading the nation in the incidence of lung cancer – our rate is 50% higher than the national average. We are fourth in the nation in overall cancer incidence. Our ranking in the Top 10 doesn’t end there. We are seventh in the nation in obesity and the number of deaths from cardiovascular disease. We are also ninth in the number of deaths from heart disease as well as from stroke.
In 2005, Jewish Hospital HealthCare Services (JHHS) and CARITAS Health Services, a part of CHI, merged to form JHSMH. This followed more than 19 months of discussions and negotiations. JHHS and CHI are the parent organizations of JHSMH, and appoint a joint board to oversee the combined company.
The University of Louisville/University Medical Center (UMC) and JHSMH have a historical partnership in cardiothoracic surgery, cardiology, community and family medicine, ophthalmology, and solid organ transplantation. Additionally, the organizations work together closely to provide critical services to patients seeking care for neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and cerebral palsy, as well as rehabilitation medicine following a stroke or a traumatic neurological accident such as a spinal cord injury. Together, these organizations have pioneered new medical procedures in cardiac surgery, adult cardiac stem cell research, and organ and tissue transplantation. The two organizations have an extensive partnership in providing a location for medical student, internship, and residency education. The University of Louisville and JHSMH have also been at the forefront of developing new organizations such as the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute.
CHI is interested in broadening its relationships in Kentucky, where it has made significant investments in healthcare. CHI leaders see many opportunities to make a positive difference in the state by transforming how healthcare is delivered, expanding access to care, contributing to the mission of academic medicine, and building healthier communities. CHI shares the deeply held commitment of the faculty and staff of the University of Louisville and JHSMH to serving historically underserved and marginalized populations.
With an eye toward the fundamental changes that are ahead for health care providers, the boards of JHSMH and UMC are discussing the benefits of forming an integrated partnership that will position the organizations for the future.
Board representatives have evaluated a possible network that has relationships across the Commonwealth, the role of academic medicine in the delivery of healthcare services, the needs of Kentucky for medical education, and how a formal partnership could help prepare for the significant number of Kentuckians who will be added to the rolls of health insurers.
There are still many issues to discuss and resolve over the coming months as the organizations work toward a possible letter of intent. Board representatives must address a number of major items, including equity/ownership, governance structure, the management of medical education, and the integration of the academic mission throughout the proposed organization.
No final recommendations or decisions have been made. Additional information will be shared over the next several months as part of an ever-expanding dialogue between organizational leadership, the community, public officials, the staff of the institutions, and the faculty of the School of Medicine and community physicians.
The bigger question you may have is why we have not been able to comment up until this point? As you could probably imagine, discussions of this nature are very strategic in nature which makes it difficult to talk about them in an open forum as plans are being developed. Also as expected, when large numbers of people become involved in a planning process, it is also very difficult to keep any discussions confidential for any length of time, especially in a town as connected as Louisville! Together this combination has lead to the rumors that so many of you may have found yourselves confronted with.
With the announcement copied below, I fully expect that people will be speculating and reading into what this might mean for our system and the rationale behind our discussions. In attempts to bring closure to these rumors, I wanted to take this opportunity to make it perfectly clear that no recommendations or decisions have been made as of yet in these partnership discussions. If and when a decision is reached there will certainly be more information to come. What we are trying to accomplish now is to begin sharing information and laying out the rationale for the discussions taking place.
I hope this joint statement announced today can help bring some color to the discussions that have been taking place with our leadership. As always, I welcome and would appreciate your thoughts and input as we continue to navigate along in this journey.
A Statement Regarding Partnership Discussions
Catholic Health Initiatives, Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's HealthCare
and the University Medical Center
In order to promote our shared commitment to patient care, biomedical research, and the education of the next generation of health care providers, the leadership of the University of Louisville/University Medical Center, Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare (JHSMH) and Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) are holding discussions to explore how they could work together in a more formal partnership to better serve Kentuckians. These conversations are driven by the fundamental changes that are occurring in clinical medicine, demographics, and the needs of Kentuckians.
Over the next five years, the Healthcare Reform Act will dramatically alter the environment for disease prevention and in which care is delivered. Changes brought by legislative reform will place demands on all healthcare providers that must be addressed proactively to ensure future viability. Practicing physicians, medical educators, scientists, and hospitals will need to work together to find solutions and make substantive and innovative changes in the way care is delivered, students are educated, and new knowledge is generated.
In Kentucky, we must find new and better ways to attack the serious health issues facing our population. We have the undesirable distinction of leading the nation in the incidence of lung cancer – our rate is 50% higher than the national average. We are fourth in the nation in overall cancer incidence. Our ranking in the Top 10 doesn’t end there. We are seventh in the nation in obesity and the number of deaths from cardiovascular disease. We are also ninth in the number of deaths from heart disease as well as from stroke.
In 2005, Jewish Hospital HealthCare Services (JHHS) and CARITAS Health Services, a part of CHI, merged to form JHSMH. This followed more than 19 months of discussions and negotiations. JHHS and CHI are the parent organizations of JHSMH, and appoint a joint board to oversee the combined company.
The University of Louisville/University Medical Center (UMC) and JHSMH have a historical partnership in cardiothoracic surgery, cardiology, community and family medicine, ophthalmology, and solid organ transplantation. Additionally, the organizations work together closely to provide critical services to patients seeking care for neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and cerebral palsy, as well as rehabilitation medicine following a stroke or a traumatic neurological accident such as a spinal cord injury. Together, these organizations have pioneered new medical procedures in cardiac surgery, adult cardiac stem cell research, and organ and tissue transplantation. The two organizations have an extensive partnership in providing a location for medical student, internship, and residency education. The University of Louisville and JHSMH have also been at the forefront of developing new organizations such as the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute.
CHI is interested in broadening its relationships in Kentucky, where it has made significant investments in healthcare. CHI leaders see many opportunities to make a positive difference in the state by transforming how healthcare is delivered, expanding access to care, contributing to the mission of academic medicine, and building healthier communities. CHI shares the deeply held commitment of the faculty and staff of the University of Louisville and JHSMH to serving historically underserved and marginalized populations.
With an eye toward the fundamental changes that are ahead for health care providers, the boards of JHSMH and UMC are discussing the benefits of forming an integrated partnership that will position the organizations for the future.
Board representatives have evaluated a possible network that has relationships across the Commonwealth, the role of academic medicine in the delivery of healthcare services, the needs of Kentucky for medical education, and how a formal partnership could help prepare for the significant number of Kentuckians who will be added to the rolls of health insurers.
There are still many issues to discuss and resolve over the coming months as the organizations work toward a possible letter of intent. Board representatives must address a number of major items, including equity/ownership, governance structure, the management of medical education, and the integration of the academic mission throughout the proposed organization.
No final recommendations or decisions have been made. Additional information will be shared over the next several months as part of an ever-expanding dialogue between organizational leadership, the community, public officials, the staff of the institutions, and the faculty of the School of Medicine and community physicians.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh on Culture, Service, and "Delivering Happiness"
One of the many benefits of writing this blog has been some of the great people I have had the chance to meet as a result along the way. .Frank Eliason, Senior Director of National Customer Service for Comcast Cable is one of those individuals who I've gotten to know and co-present with at a couple of conferences. Frank has made a legend of himself in the corporate customer service world and has been written about in Business Week, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal to name a few. So when it comes to customer service, I tend to take his opinions to heart. The last time we were together in Chicago, he was telling me the story about Zappos, (the online shoe retailer that was recently sold to Amazon for the equivalent of $1.2 billion in stock) and about how their CEO, Tony Hsieh turned this internet start up into one of the most successful internet businesses of all time principally by being obsessed with creating an outstanding culture of service. So when I was recently contacted to see if I wanted an advanced copy of Hsieh's new book, Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose, I was more than a little intrigued and agreed.
In reviewing the book, there is background on Hsieh's upbringing, early career start-ups, and ultimately how he got involved with creating Zappos. From there it reads quite differently from many business books I have read with many personal stories and anecdotes from Hsieh and his staff, however the message is not entirely new or inconsistent with I have always believed in...create a winning culture and your brand will be successful.
Zappos' goal is simple: have the best customer service in the world. For Zappos, customer service is not a department but rather a core purpose that transcends every aspect of the business. To accomplish this goal, everyone has to be on board. As the company was struggling in their early existence to survive, the staff created a set of 10 core principles for which everyone is now screened before hiring and evaluated against to remain employed by Zappos.
As we grow as a company, it has become more and more important to explicitly define the core values from which we develop our culture, our brand, and our business strategies. These are the ten core values that we live by:
These principles are not merely words talked about at orientation or hanging on a framed picture in the hall, but are truly the core values for which the Zappos brand and company exists. Hsieh points out to "Hire slowly and fire quickly" is one of their secrets of success. With these values firmly committed to, Hsieh has challenged each of his staff to make at least one improvement each week to make Zappos better reflect its core principles.
The end of the book and "the end game", as Hsieh calls it, is all about Happiness. He's passionate when he talks about customer happiness, employee happiness, and [leadership] happiness - "the goals of happiness aren't mutually exclusive." From there he challenge his readers to think about happiness and what it means to them. A few example questions he poses:
- What is success?
- What is happiness?
- What am I working towards? (Make sure that the answer to this question supports the answers you gave for the first two.)
- Make a list of the happiest periods of your life, and find the connecting threads.
- Where's the opportunity for you to live your happiness?
- What is your company's core values and higher purpose?
- How do you relate to them?
So if you have read this far, you may be asking why have I written about this book and this topic? The answer lies in the following question....if an online shoe store could turn themselves into a billion dollar enterprise with wildly loyal customers by focusing on culture and service, what do we need to do accomplish the same goal? I look forward to hearing your suggestions and continuing the discussion!
Monday, May 24, 2010
A culture of safety? Your thoughts please!
I have written about our efforts around improving patient safety a number of times in the past (here and here as examples) and will continue to do so in future posts. However, from time-to-time it is also important to stop and ask, how safe are we we and are our efforts making a positive difference in the care we provide to our patients?
As leaders, we need to listen (as well as direct) and this is one of those times. A couple of weeks ago we launched a survey for our team members to tell us how they feel about our culture and just how safe of an environment we have created. It's actually something we do every other year to gauge our progress and identify opportunities of where we can continue to improve.
Our last survey in
- Hospital hand-offs and transitions
- Non-punitive response to error
- Teamwork across hospital units
- Staffing based on acuity
Since then we have made concerted efforts to improve upon these items as well as other safety initiatives that have surfaced. I look forward to seeing the results of this years survey and to see how far we have come along and what new areas we can work to improve upon.
If you are a JHSMH team member and haven't completed your survey, please do so by the end of the month so your voice can be heard! Details are on the intranet: under “Company News and Announcements” you will find “AHRQ Patient Safety Survey.” Click the link and tell us what you think! Thank you!
As leaders, we need to listen (as well as direct) and this is one of those times. A couple of weeks ago we launched a survey for our team members to tell us how they feel about our culture and just how safe of an environment we have created. It's actually something we do every other year to gauge our progress and identify opportunities of where we can continue to improve.
Our last survey in
- Hospital hand-offs and transitions
- Non-punitive response to error
- Teamwork across hospital units
- Staffing based on acuity
Since then we have made concerted efforts to improve upon these items as well as other safety initiatives that have surfaced. I look forward to seeing the results of this years survey and to see how far we have come along and what new areas we can work to improve upon.
If you are a JHSMH team member and haven't completed your survey, please do so by the end of the month so your voice can be heard! Details are on the intranet: under “Company News and Announcements” you will find “AHRQ Patient Safety Survey.” Click the link and tell us what you think! Thank you!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Celebrating our care givers...the true meaning of patient care
I was in a meting with the Dean of our Medical School yesterday and he noted that I must be really busy lately because I haven't added any new blog posts recently. Astute as always, he also has a way of helping me to reflect and refocus on our mission and why it is we are ultimately here.
With great timing, right after our meeting, I received this note from one of our managers and thought it was fitting to share as just one example of many that define and distinguish our care givers at Jewish Hospital. Granted, this is a little late for nurses day, but then again we don't have to wait for just one day a year to share and celebrate the caring and compassionate care givers we have exhibiting excellence in action. Please read the note below and if you see one of our care givers today, please tell them "Thank You" and encourage them for the outstanding jobs that they do each and every day!
"I wanted to share an example of why after three plus decades I am still a nurse and still in management. Yesterday we lost a patient. Working in ICU this is not an uncommon event but this time it hurt more than it normally does. I was so proud of our team of nurses, nursing assistants, unit secretaries, respiratory therapists, chaplains, social workers and physicians; everyone treated her with love and respect. Her mother hugged me yesterday prior to her death, and asked me if I knew what a great team that we had, and I told her "absolutely". Our patient died surrounded by the love of her family but also surrounded by the compassion and love of the ICU Tower's team, the RT's and everyone else mentioned. It was a true interdisciplinary effort. During this last hospitalization she received manicures, shampoos, her legs were shaved and of course lots of friendship. In the scheme of things this may not seem important but these were tasks that normalized a far from normal existence while in a hospital. These were tasks done by a team that is used to a high tech environment but who knew these tasks perhaps made this high tech environment more "normal" and truthfully it made "us" feel helpful in a situation where we felt helpless. At the management meetings we are always asked what "wins" we have had. Although it was not a win as such for the team since we lost our patient and this has been a horribly sad event, I am immensely proud of our team. They were high tech when they needed to be, they were humanistic when they needed to be. They just were everything they should have been and I am proud."
With great timing, right after our meeting, I received this note from one of our managers and thought it was fitting to share as just one example of many that define and distinguish our care givers at Jewish Hospital. Granted, this is a little late for nurses day, but then again we don't have to wait for just one day a year to share and celebrate the caring and compassionate care givers we have exhibiting excellence in action. Please read the note below and if you see one of our care givers today, please tell them "Thank You" and encourage them for the outstanding jobs that they do each and every day!
"I wanted to share an example of why after three plus decades I am still a nurse and still in management. Yesterday we lost a patient. Working in ICU this is not an uncommon event but this time it hurt more than it normally does. I was so proud of our team of nurses, nursing assistants, unit secretaries, respiratory therapists, chaplains, social workers and physicians; everyone treated her with love and respect. Her mother hugged me yesterday prior to her death, and asked me if I knew what a great team that we had, and I told her "absolutely". Our patient died surrounded by the love of her family but also surrounded by the compassion and love of the ICU Tower's team, the RT's and everyone else mentioned. It was a true interdisciplinary effort. During this last hospitalization she received manicures, shampoos, her legs were shaved and of course lots of friendship. In the scheme of things this may not seem important but these were tasks that normalized a far from normal existence while in a hospital. These were tasks done by a team that is used to a high tech environment but who knew these tasks perhaps made this high tech environment more "normal" and truthfully it made "us" feel helpful in a situation where we felt helpless. At the management meetings we are always asked what "wins" we have had. Although it was not a win as such for the team since we lost our patient and this has been a horribly sad event, I am immensely proud of our team. They were high tech when they needed to be, they were humanistic when they needed to be. They just were everything they should have been and I am proud."
--From a Jewish Hospital Nurse Manager (edited to protect the identity of our patient)
Monday, May 3, 2010
The Flexner Report Centennial Symposium
Tomorrow we are hosting a lecture in honor on the 100th Anniversary of the Flexner Report. For those of you who didn't know the significance behind our address, I thought I would share this summary and information with you as we celebrate the man behind this "game changing" report and his impact on medical education as we know it today. One hundred years ago, Louisville educator Abraham Flexner revolutionized the medical profession with his exhaustive report entitled “Medical Education in the United States and Canada.” The report, published in 1910, served as a catalyst for the standardization of medical education around North America. To celebrate the centennial anniversary of the Flexner Report, the University of Louisville School of Medicine and Jewish Hospital will be jointly sponsoring a national event to be held on May 4 at the hospital’s Rudd Heart and Lung Conference Center and at the Old Louisville Medical School. The T. Cook Smith Lecture of the Innominate Society for Medical History and Banquet will be held the same evening.
Flexner’s research, originally commissioned by Henry Pritchett, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, included information gathered from his survey of the 155 medical schools then in existence in the United States and Canada. In matter-of-fact language, Flexner castigated the appalling state of medical education in America, named the names of schools with astounding low standards, and suggested drastic steps to improve the sad state of affairs.
Flexner, then secretary of the Rockefeller Foundation, became the major mover and shaker to ensure that medical education would never be the same. He was instrumental in providing funds to many designated medical schools and ushered in the aptly-named Flexnerian revolution in medical education. The Flexner Report catapulted Flexner, who was not a physician, to celebrity status in the education field where his opinion was sought on various educational matters – particularly on medical education.
“It is our pleasure to be co-hosting this event honoring Abraham Flexner,” says Jewish Hospital CEO Marty Bonick. “Medical schools throughout the United States are far stronger – even now – due to his extraordinary efforts. We appreciate our close association with the University of Louisville’s School of Medicine, and share their excitement in paying tribute to Flexner’s work in a substantive way.”
“Flexner was born in Louisville and lived here until he was 39 years of age,” said Dr. Edward Halperin, dean of the UofL School of Medicine. “Louisville is a fitting location to celebrate the centennial of the Report.”
Transition Director of the Jewish Community of Louisville, Ronald Greenberg, is aware of the Flexner family’s role in the Jewish community. Abraham Flexner’s brother, Jacob, and his nephews, Morris and Samuel, were all physicians associated with the old Jewish Hospital. After the Flexner report’s findings became known, all of the city’s “private medical colleges” closed; only the University of Louisville’s School of Medicine survived. Jewish Hospital memorialized Flexner’s contributions to medical education by naming the street in front of the hospital Abraham Flexner Way.
Drs. Morris Weiss, Adewale Troutman, Gordon Tobin, Charles Smith and E. Ray Knight have agreed to serve on different panels and on the Abstract Review Committee.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
More thoughts on email...
Thinking further on my previous post and adding to the discussion, let's assume that on average one-minute is spent processing each email sent or received (a reasonable assumption I would think). That would mean for the 30,000 emails I dealt with last year, that translates into almost 21 solid days of doing nothing but email! No eating, sleeping, daydreaming, nothing - just email. If you focused that on a more manageable 8-hour "work-day" (which never happens in only 8 hours) that would be 62 days of doing nothing but email, two-whole months!
I don't have an answer on how to change any of this at the moment, but its obviously struck a nerve with me. I am interested in hearing your thoughts, what do you think???
IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTICE: This communication, including any
attachment, contains information that may be confidential or
privileged and is intended solely for the entity or individual to
whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, please
notify the sender at once. You should delete this message and are
hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, or distribution of
this message is strictly prohibited. Nothing in this email,
including any attachment, is intended to be a legally binding
signature.
I don't have an answer on how to change any of this at the moment, but its obviously struck a nerve with me. I am interested in hearing your thoughts, what do you think???
IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTICE: This communication, including any
attachment, contains information that may be confidential or
privileged and is intended solely for the entity or individual to
whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, please
notify the sender at once. You should delete this message and are
hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, or distribution of
this message is strictly prohibited. Nothing in this email,
including any attachment, is intended to be a legally binding
signature.
What did we ever do before email?
On a lighter note tonight, I thought I would share an interesting factoid I was forced to reflect upon recently as my laptop locked up for several minutes while trying to find an email I had in my archives...
For backup purposes and reasons that are not worth going into here, I essentially have to maintain a duplicate mail folder that archives every single email that is sent from me or to me over time. This process has been in place for just about a year now, and up until the other night I had never tried to go into that archive folder. However, while searching for an email I did have to go into this archive at which point my laptop froze as it tried to restore and process the twenty-two THOUSAND (22,000) emails I have received in just the past year. Assuming the majority of those were received on business days that averages 88 emails per day! That doesn't include my other personal and blog email accounts or facebook messages that are also received each day. I have often been asked how many emails I get everyday, but never really knew with certainty until I stumbled upon this. (By comparison I only sent 8,000 emails last year which can draw all sorts of other inferences).
I certainly don't think this bit of trivia is particularly newsworthy, but it did make me reflect back on what life was like before email or even worse the blackberry... I'm quite certain I didn't process that much incoming mail and memos and I'm guessing there was a lot more personal interaction taking place. So the question is, are we any more productive today than before and even if we are, are we any better for it? Just food for thought...
Monday, April 12, 2010
Healthcare Excellence? Yeah, there's an app for that!
As I have written about previously, social media is the new mode of communicating in today's world. As such, in trying to keep with the times and always trying to be the healthcare innovator in Louisville, today we launched our newest healthcare advance in the social media frontier - our own "app" for Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's Healthcare!
After spending months on design and development, our first version of the JHSMH app will allow you to:
- Find a physician near you and request an appointment
- Register for JHSMH events
- Keep track of the latest JHSMH news
- Receive interesting health news and tips
- Monitor your food intake with a calorie tracker and food diary
- Determine if you are in a healthy weight range with a BMI calculator
Developments like this don't just happen of course, and I'd like to congratulate and thank Leslie Dorris for having the vision and drive to see this all the way through its successful launch! Download it here and let us know what you think!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Oh Canada...Healthcare Debate Looming?
Given all of the discussion about health reform in America, I thought I would pass along a link forwarded to me by a member of our marketing and communications team that he discovered while vacationing in Canada. It is an opinion written by Jeffrey Simpson in "The Globe and Mail" news from Quebec City entitled "In Quebec, health care is no longer a free ride."
The discussion focuses on the ever inflating costs that "free" healthcare in Quebec are consuming and changes that are being proposed to slow the increase of government spending on healthcare. Ideas being discussed are a citizen "contribution" to increase healthcare revenues (note the attempt to not say "tax") and the notion of physician co-pays to which the opinion notes “ ...to this is added the extra fear that change will lead inexorably to U.S.-style medicine.”
So maybe we are not alone in our attempts to reform healthcare and control escalating costs? However, the person sending this to me noted..."You can’t escape the high rate of taxes around here and the massive government subsidies. I can tell you that there is a 10-15% tax on meals; makes our 6% sales tax seem puny. However, people don’t seem any less “free” than we do."
Interesting times indeed, your thoughts?
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Tough Discussions
Last week I held several Team Member forums to discuss the sate of our economy and its ongoing effects on our hospital and market. As many of you are aware, since the beginning of this year, hospital volumes have been trending down nationwide and we are having to make a number of tough decisions in order to react to our ever changing industry. I always consider these forums to be time well spent as I am able to interact with our team, hear what is on their minds, listen to their ideas, and share information on what is happening inside our organization. Particularly given the topic of conversation, I greatly appreciate the interest, candor, and professionalism that has been shown by all of our Team Members as we are implementing decisions to proactively protect our mission to the community. For the past two years that I have been with the hospital, many changes and improvements have been made to better our operating performance and quality metrics and that could not be done without the dedication and talent of our collective team. Despite the challenges that the healthcare industry is facing and has yet to face, I am greatful to work with a team that has a "can do" attitude that never seems to give up! Below is the internal "Progress Note" that I sent out to the team last week to further discuss this issue.
Over the last couple weeks you’ve heard about the tough decisions being made not only at Jewish Hospital and Frazier Rehab Institute but across the Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare system. The decision to eliminate 500 positions throughout our system did not come lightly and is always a last resort as our team members are our organization.
I wanted to take a moment and outline to you our rationale and reason for making the position eliminations. As you all know, over the past year, we have been undergoing a process called the ACE Plan, where we have focused on operations, finance and strategy. This process, designed to make sustainable improvements to achieve and ensure long-term success, has identified now over $70 million in improvements across our organization. Twenty-five million dollars of these improvements have already been implemented. These changes, across Human Resources, Labor, Non-Labor, Quality and Revenue Cycle are many times not easy but they are ones that need to be made to ensure that this organization is stable not only today but in the years to come.
We are weathering a perfect storm in health care. As 2009 ended and 2010 began, we saw an immediate and drastic decline in inpatient and outpatient volumes at our facilities—approximately 3—7%. The good news in this is that this is not just at Jewish Hospital and Frazier Rehab—rather it is an issue being faced all over Louisville and the nation as a whole. This means that while we are facing dropping volumes, we are not losing market share — there is simply less of a market to go around.
There are many speculations as to why the health care market changed. We believe it is a combination of:
All this is coupled with increasing bad debt. In 2009, JHSMH provided $68 million in uncompensated charity care. Compare that number to 2008’s figure of $52 million — a $16 million difference. These figures, while not our fault or of our doing, still have to be accounted for and mean we must change the way we do business.
I’ve had many people ask me what success will look like at the end of the ACE Plan. By making these changes we will:
I appreciate the perseverance that each of you has shown over the last several months. In many ways, we are climbing a mountain. If you have ever gone on a climb, you know there are stretches where you just wonder if you can go on and think maybe you should just bail and turn around and go home. But if you keep pushing through and make it to the top, it’s all worth it in that moment because the view is breathtaking and the sense of accomplishment is empowering.
We’re on a climb. And I ask you to keep pushing ahead with me. The changes and decisions we are making may not be easy but we are heading in the right direction for long-term success—and when we get there very soon, the view from the top will have made it all worthwhile.
Over the last couple weeks you’ve heard about the tough decisions being made not only at Jewish Hospital and Frazier Rehab Institute but across the Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare system. The decision to eliminate 500 positions throughout our system did not come lightly and is always a last resort as our team members are our organization.
I wanted to take a moment and outline to you our rationale and reason for making the position eliminations. As you all know, over the past year, we have been undergoing a process called the ACE Plan, where we have focused on operations, finance and strategy. This process, designed to make sustainable improvements to achieve and ensure long-term success, has identified now over $70 million in improvements across our organization. Twenty-five million dollars of these improvements have already been implemented. These changes, across Human Resources, Labor, Non-Labor, Quality and Revenue Cycle are many times not easy but they are ones that need to be made to ensure that this organization is stable not only today but in the years to come.
We are weathering a perfect storm in health care. As 2009 ended and 2010 began, we saw an immediate and drastic decline in inpatient and outpatient volumes at our facilities—approximately 3—7%. The good news in this is that this is not just at Jewish Hospital and Frazier Rehab—rather it is an issue being faced all over Louisville and the nation as a whole. This means that while we are facing dropping volumes, we are not losing market share — there is simply less of a market to go around.
There are many speculations as to why the health care market changed. We believe it is a combination of:
- COBRA insurance coverage running out for those first laid off in the beginning of the recession
- High deductible health insurance plans causing consumers to think twice about whether they need a certain test
- Delaying of procedures/office visits due to the economy
All this is coupled with increasing bad debt. In 2009, JHSMH provided $68 million in uncompensated charity care. Compare that number to 2008’s figure of $52 million — a $16 million difference. These figures, while not our fault or of our doing, still have to be accounted for and mean we must change the way we do business.
I’ve had many people ask me what success will look like at the end of the ACE Plan. By making these changes we will:
- Be operationally and financially stable
- Have made strategic decisions for long-term stability and growth
- Be a quality focused organization
- Focus on results vs. activity
- Cross-collaborate vs. staying in silos
- Encourage empowerment over obedience
I appreciate the perseverance that each of you has shown over the last several months. In many ways, we are climbing a mountain. If you have ever gone on a climb, you know there are stretches where you just wonder if you can go on and think maybe you should just bail and turn around and go home. But if you keep pushing through and make it to the top, it’s all worth it in that moment because the view is breathtaking and the sense of accomplishment is empowering.
We’re on a climb. And I ask you to keep pushing ahead with me. The changes and decisions we are making may not be easy but we are heading in the right direction for long-term success—and when we get there very soon, the view from the top will have made it all worthwhile.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Celebrating Doctor's Day!
On Friday, we celebrated Doctor's Day with our medical staff in the
Over the past year we have taken on a number of new initiatives that have helped us to improve the quality, service, and efficiency of the care we deliver to our patients. Specifically, with the help of our medical staff leaders who took on the challenge of chairing our new service line committees that kicked off in 2009, we achieved significant improvement in each of our core measure "perfect-care" bundles*. This year, on Doctor's Day, we chose to recognize those physicians who achieved the highest level of achievement in quality and service.
This year's winners for Highest Patient Satisfaction at Jewish Hospital were :
- Outstanding Patient Satisfaction at the 99th Percentile: Dr. Raymond Shea
- Outstanding Patient Satisfaction at the 99th Percentile
- Outstanding Patient Satisfaction at the 92nd Percentile:
And for Frazier Rehab:
- Outstanding Patient Satisfaction at the 94th Percentile
- Outstanding Patient Satisfaction at the 92nd Percentile: Dr. Louie Williams
- Perfect Care Bundle Results at the 96th Percentile: Dr. Chandhiran Rangaswamy
- Perfect Care Bundle Results at the 95th Percentile: Dr. Ibrahim Fahsah
- Perfect Care Bundle Results at the 94th Percentile
- Perfect Care Bundle Results at the 94th Percentile
I wish to congratulate all of these physicians for their outstanding outcomes in delivering the highest quality patient care and I thank our entire medical staff for their continued efforts at making Jewish Hospital and Frazier Rehab the best hospital in
*A note on the quality awards: The core measure bundle used for the physician quality award includes core measures within the AMI, Heart Failure and community-acquired Pneumonia core measure sets. The AMI-HF-PN bundle score is the percentage of patients meeting all core measure requirements relative to the specific measures for which they qualify within these sets. The denominator is the total number of patients that qualify for one or more measures within the AMI, HF and PN measure sets. The numerator is the number of core measure patients for which all core measure requirements were met. So, “perfect care” is defined relative to having followed the core measure evidence based practice protocols completely within each sub-set.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Health "Reform?" Not sure, but a step in the right direction
In the past week it has been hard not to notice all of the talk about the health "reform" legislation passed into law. As much as I prefer not to talk politics, many have asked me my thoughts on this reform legislation and its impact on healthcare as we know it. While I am by no means an expert on the 2,400 plus page bill and its 153 pages of changes, to sum it up simply, I would have to say its a step in the right direction.
Our current healthcare system is not sustainable for the long-term. There are over 47 million American's who are uninsured and with rising costs of labor, technology, pharmaceuticals, supplies and insurance premiums, healthcare will bankrupt our country if we don't do something about it. The New York Times reported that if we did nothing to change healthcare, by 2020 a family health insurance premium would be $24,000 or roughly a quarter of what the average American family is expected to earn at that time. Clearly, this is not something that can be sustained, but it is also not an easy issue to fix.
Everything in healthcare is very intertwined which makes any effort at true reform very elusive. While it was tried, you cannot separate the insurance companies, hospitals, physicians, lawyers, technology and device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and expect to come up with a comprehensive solution that will address the out-of-control spending that exists within our current system. Nor can you ignore the entitlement mentality that we have as a nation and neglect to address issues related to beginning and end of life care, preventive care and wellness, rampant obesity and nutrition issues, and smoking and hope that healthcare utilization will decrease. Couple all of this with the fact that our government does not partake in strategic planning, but rather short term partisan politics that are tied to a four-year election cycle and it becomes very easy to understand why "reforming" healthcare is such a daunting effort. So while the legislation that was passed may not be "reform" in the truest sense it will likely spur the discussions that need to begin happening in order for real reform to ultimately take place.
While certainly a deeply contested issue between the parties, I believe that this legislation has done a number of positive things that will begin moving the conversation of health reform in the right direction. Conversations about topics including:
Our current healthcare system is not sustainable for the long-term. There are over 47 million American's who are uninsured and with rising costs of labor, technology, pharmaceuticals, supplies and insurance premiums, healthcare will bankrupt our country if we don't do something about it. The New York Times reported that if we did nothing to change healthcare, by 2020 a family health insurance premium would be $24,000 or roughly a quarter of what the average American family is expected to earn at that time. Clearly, this is not something that can be sustained, but it is also not an easy issue to fix.
Everything in healthcare is very intertwined which makes any effort at true reform very elusive. While it was tried, you cannot separate the insurance companies, hospitals, physicians, lawyers, technology and device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and expect to come up with a comprehensive solution that will address the out-of-control spending that exists within our current system. Nor can you ignore the entitlement mentality that we have as a nation and neglect to address issues related to beginning and end of life care, preventive care and wellness, rampant obesity and nutrition issues, and smoking and hope that healthcare utilization will decrease. Couple all of this with the fact that our government does not partake in strategic planning, but rather short term partisan politics that are tied to a four-year election cycle and it becomes very easy to understand why "reforming" healthcare is such a daunting effort. So while the legislation that was passed may not be "reform" in the truest sense it will likely spur the discussions that need to begin happening in order for real reform to ultimately take place.
While certainly a deeply contested issue between the parties, I believe that this legislation has done a number of positive things that will begin moving the conversation of health reform in the right direction. Conversations about topics including:
- By covering an additional 32 million people we are beginning to put in place a system to match the entitlement mentality that our nation has around healthcare being a fundamental right of all citizens.
- By increasing taxes and requiring all citizens to purchase insurance we are promoting the concept of personal responsibility and the realization that all entitlements do come with a cost that must be ultimately be paid for by someone.
- By creating a healthcare exchange and eliminating the ability to disqualify based upon pre-existing conditions and removing lifetime caps we are allowing insurance companies to prove they are a real partner in healthcare and not merely a profiteer from it.
- By reducing payments to hospitals we will find new ways to partner with physicians, suppliers and insurers in efforts to better coordinate the care we deliver in a more efficient and cost-conscious manner.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
For the past year that I have been writing, I have somehow managed to keep politics out of my conversations here, but as they say, all good things must eventually come to an end! Last week I had the opportunity to take a quick trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with members of our Kentucky delegation to discuss issues affecting our system and healthcare in general. While my trip may not have exactly been like the movie, it was certainly an interesting and thought provoking experience. After reflecting on the trip I was both fascinated and frustrated by my time at the Capitol.
On the one hand, to see the variety, pace, and sheer volume of issues that must be dealt with on any given day in any given legislators office is mind-boggling to say the least. Constantly shifting gears from issues ranging from education to labor to healthcare to energy to transportation to (you get the point) requires a level of study and preparation that no one person can possibly master in any significant way. Yet through the coordination of legislative aides, assistants, and directors our public officials manage to do a pretty good job of being knowledgeable not only about the issues, but also the pros/cons and political consequences of any decision that they must make or support. Specifically, I was impressed to see the level of understanding that our elected officials have about the activities taking place in our hospital ranging from our research efforts in spinal cord injury and composite tissue allotransplantation (hand transplants) to our local issues affecting patient volumes, insurance, and reimbursements just to name a few. We should be comforted by the fact that our legislators are very aware (in a positive way) of the excellent care we provide to the community and the reputation that we hold as we carry out our mission.
On the other hand, after spending some time in the Capitol and seeing the level of competing priorities, agendas, and partisan politics, you can't help but get a bit dismayed at how difficult it really is to get anything accomplished. I just happened to be in D.C. as Senator Jim Bunning was in the news for blocking legislation to increase federal spending by $10 billion. Nevermind the fact that the Senator was really not opposed to spending the money per se, all he was asking was that we be accountable and have a way to pay for the proposed new expenditures (just as we must be accountable in our business). The result is an avalanche of chaos and commotion as lobbyists, constituents, and the media all flood the office, phone lines and email boxes as they scramble to position their personal agendas and biases in order to put pressure in overturning the last vote needed to sway in their direction. After seeing that display, you can't help but wonder where our issues on healthcare stand and to what degree they evaluated on their merits versus simply how objectionable or valuable they might be to any single legislators portfolio that they must manage as they attempt to barter with their votes to make progress.
However, as one legislator said to us, it really isn't the people in Washington that are the problem, but rather the process and I think he was correct in his assessment. When you look at a problem as complex and controversial as healthcare, to expect meaningful reform to occur in a single session is highly unlikely if not impossible. The number of variables that must be addressed to achieve true transformation is simply to large to be accomplished at one time. In my opinion we need a deliberate process to address not only hospitals and insurance companies, but also physicians, pharmaceuticals and supply companies, technology, tort reform, education, and even our entitlement philosophy as a nation. Unfortunately though, our government does not partake in a true strategic planning process, but instead resorts to politics and reconciliation to try and make good on a worthy, yet overambitious campaign promise regardless of the fact that the "reform" now being discussed will no longer provide a solution to the real problems we face. There ought to be (and is) a smarter and more thoughtful approach to tackle something as important as the health and well being of our nation. Hopefully we will figure this out before our current healthcare system collapses and bankrupts the country.
(But in the words of Dennis Miller, one of my favorite comedians)...Of course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Mono-Blog-ue or Dia-Blog-ue?
After a rather interesting month of travel for both personal and professional reasons, I have realized that an entire month has gotten away from my blogging. While I am always encountering situations that I think would be good topics to blog-about, I'm apparently still lacking the discipline to commit the time to actually sit down and write. To my loyal readers, I apologize and promise to do better about getting back on schedule!
When I do get to write, one of the questions that I am always asking myself is whether or not I am discussing topics that are interesting to you. In other words, am I hitting the mark or not? Are the posts relevant, meaningful, and engaging or are they so-so, watered down, or not all that worthwhile? I realize that is putting myself out there for a wide array of comments, but personally, I would prefer to know than to keep on guessing. To help with this, I have added a new "reaction" feature to the blog comments (special thanks to Jonathan at Press-Ganey for helping me figure this out!). At the bottom of each post there are now check-boxes that can be clicked like on Facebook to let me know if you "Like it!" find it "Interesting" or politely want to tell me that you didn't find it all that worthwhile by checking "No thanks." Of course you can also leave me a longer comment by clicking on the "Make/Read" comments link. While I do allow anonymous comments, I do have to preview them before they are posted to ensure there is nothing completely off-color or that would violate any of our privacy rules at the hospital.
When talking at the hospital in team forums, meetings or just the hall-way, I have always said I prefer to have a dialogue vs a monologue and to keep this meaningful, I'd prefer the same online. So now is your chance...let me know what topics you'd like me to cover and write about and please let me know what you think when I do. Thanks again for making this a worthwhile experiment!
When I do get to write, one of the questions that I am always asking myself is whether or not I am discussing topics that are interesting to you. In other words, am I hitting the mark or not? Are the posts relevant, meaningful, and engaging or are they so-so, watered down, or not all that worthwhile? I realize that is putting myself out there for a wide array of comments, but personally, I would prefer to know than to keep on guessing. To help with this, I have added a new "reaction" feature to the blog comments (special thanks to Jonathan at Press-Ganey for helping me figure this out!). At the bottom of each post there are now check-boxes that can be clicked like on Facebook to let me know if you "Like it!" find it "Interesting" or politely want to tell me that you didn't find it all that worthwhile by checking "No thanks." Of course you can also leave me a longer comment by clicking on the "Make/Read" comments link. While I do allow anonymous comments, I do have to preview them before they are posted to ensure there is nothing completely off-color or that would violate any of our privacy rules at the hospital.
When talking at the hospital in team forums, meetings or just the hall-way, I have always said I prefer to have a dialogue vs a monologue and to keep this meaningful, I'd prefer the same online. So now is your chance...let me know what topics you'd like me to cover and write about and please let me know what you think when I do. Thanks again for making this a worthwhile experiment!
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