June 2008 - Posts

• The New (CMO) Math: Passion + Power = Progress

  In his five years on the job, Dr. Ernie Ring taught me why the Chief Medical Officer role is crucial, and how to do it right. Since Ernie is retiring at week’s end, it seems like an opportune time to share what I’ve learned.A bit of background. UCSF Medical Read More... Posted Wed, Jun 25 2008 8:36 AM by Bob Wachter | 3 Comments Filed under: Quality Improvement, Hospital Care, Quality Measurement, Medical Education/Academia, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Health Policy

• 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

• How Infection Prevention Came to Dominate the Patient Safety Movement

  The Joint Commission just released its 2009 National Patient Safety Goals, and – no surprise – they focus on infection prevention. While this seems natural today, it wasn’t always so. In fact, the conflation of infection control and patient safety is Read More... Posted Sun, Jun 22 2008 1:10 AM by Bob Wachter | 2 Comments Filed under: Hospital Care, Transparency and Reporting, Quality Measurement, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Nurses/Nursing, Health Policy

• Announcing our Hospitalist CME Course, and a New Hospitalist Mini-College

  A quick heads-up for those of you thinking about attending this year’s Management of the Hospitalized Patient (MHP) conference, October 23-25 in SF… we’re adding a hands-on, small group “Hospitalist Mini-College” pre-course. I think it will be tremendous. Read More... Posted Sun, Jun 15 2008 7:51 PM by Bob Wachter | 6 Comments Filed under: Hospital Care, Medical Education/Academia, Hospitalists/Hospital Medicine

• Could Intensivists Be Harmful to ICU Patients’ Health?

  Of all the structural (how care is organized) “evidence-based markers of high quality care,” perhaps the most ironclad has been the involvement of critical care physicians in the care of ICU patients. That is, until now. In a sophisticated study in today’s Read More... Posted Wed, Jun 04 2008 7:34 AM by Bob Wachter | 7 Comments Filed under: Quality Improvement, Hospital Care, Quality Measurement, Hospitalists/Hospital Medicine, 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 | 4 Comments Filed under: Quality Measurement, Medical Education/Academia, Diagnosis/Clinical Reasoning, Information Technology, Patient Safety/Medical Errors, Industry/Pharma, Health Policy, Media/Press Coverage