Winthrop Whitcomb, MD, MHM
News
Female physicians, lower mortality, lower readmissions: A case study
January 20, 2017
Week in, week out for the past 25 years, I have had a front-row seat to the medical practice of a certain female physician: my wife, Heather. We met when we worked together on the wards during...
Opinion
Thinking Outside the DRG Box
December 10, 2016
Alternative payment models reward post-acute-care value over in-hospital savings
News
Providing Effective Palliative Care in the Era of Value
August 16, 2016
An important area to pay particular attention to is the role of future hospitalizations in patients’ wishes for care
Opinion
8 Lessons for Hospitalists Turned Entrepreneurs
May 7, 2016
If you are a hospitalist, you are an entrepreneur almost by definition. All hospitalists are continuously engaged in improving the hospital experience for our patients.
Opinion
Revisiting the ‘Key Principles and Characteristics of an Effective Hospital Medicine Group’
March 10, 2016
It has been two years since the “Key Characteristics” was published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine.1 The SHM board of directors envisions the Key Characteristics as a tool to improve the performance of hospital medicine groups (HMGs) and “raise the bar” for the specialty. At SHM’s annual mee
Opinion
Early Mobility Program
November 30, 2015
“I didn’t get out of bed for 10 days” —Anonymous patient admitted to a skilled nursing facility post-hospitalization for a COPD exacerbation Readmission penalties, “Medicare spending per beneficiary” under value-based purchasing, and the move to accountable care are propelling hospitalists to do
Opinion
Empathy, Patients, and Caregivers
October 5, 2015
Empathy—the feeling that you understand and share another person’s experiences and emotions: the ability to share someone else’s feelings. —Merriam-Webster By the time I became a third-year medical resident, I had mastered the repertoire of “don’t tread on me” behaviors that seemed essential to
Opinion
The Three-Year Plan
July 29, 2015
Although 2019 may seem like a long way away, it isn’t too soon to start thinking about and preparing for the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) or its (seemingly preferable) alternative, participation in an alternative payment model (APM) such as an ACO, a medical home, or a bundled payment
Opinion
Bundled Payment and Hospital Medicine, Pt. 2
June 8, 2015
Editor’s note: Second in a two-part series examining bundled payments and hospital medicine. In full disclosure, Dr.
Opinion
The Biggest Thing in Hospital Medicine Since Patient Safety?
April 4, 2015
Editor’s note: First of a two-part series examining bundled payments and hospital medicine. Additionally, Dr.