Richard Quinn is a freelance writer based in New Jersey.
PHOTOS MATT FENSTERMACHER
Time after Time
SHM’s annual meeting has a familiar endnote: Dr. Wachter. Here is a review of his recent presentations:
2009: “Creating ‘Accountability’ in a ‘No Blame’ Culture: The Yin and Yang of the Quality and Safety Revolution.” The talk paired with a keynote address about QI from Joint Commission President Mark Chassin, MD, MPP, MPH.
2008: “Whipsawed: Can Hospitalists Thrive in the Face of Co-Management, Non-Teaching Services, Transparency, P4P, and the Reality of Perpetual Change?” The clunky title alone helped dramatize the point that HM leaders need to stay abreast of a litany of healthcare changes to stay relevant.
2007: “Hospital Medicine 2017: A Note from the Future.” In a fictional letter to SHM leadership, Dr. Wachter used SHM’s 10th annual meeting to whimsically forecast the future of the specialty. Of note was his projection that the industry would swell to 50,000 hospitalists by 2017.
2006: “Consequences (Intended or Otherwise) of the Quality and IT Revolutions.” Progress doesn’t come without complications, and this address focused on the impact that the front wave of quality and technology improvements would have on rank-and-file hospitalists.
2005: “Hospital Medicine 9 Years Later: Still Crazy After All These Years.” An overview of the HM tenet of value improvement and the arguments hospitalist leaders make to maximize their usefulness to the hospitals where they work.
2004: “Internal Bleeding: What We Need to Know and Do to Cure our Epidemic of Medical Mistakes.” A big-picture, case-based discussion on patient safety.