Recent Blog Posts
Medical Mistakes Happen
on Jul 26, 2007 in ISMP Patient safety IHI This newspaper in Wisconsin details some of the medical mistakes healthcare providers make. Here is another link to a web site for journalists covering healthcare: http://www.healthjournalism.org/I regularly receive the ISMP newsletter (offers free C...
The Business of Being Born
on Nov 30, 2007 in Patient safety birth nursing care Celebrity actress/host Ricki Lake's new movie, "The Business of Being Born" points out that some of the most traditional practices of contemporary obstetrics have everything to do with the convenience of the physician, but can actually make delivery...
Wow, the Joint Commission Moves Slowly
on Sep 25, 2008 in Healthcare Patient Safety Heparin errors and patient harm have been in the news quite a bit the last few years. So what are hospital regulators doing about it?Let's look at the time line here:2006: Heparin error kills 3 babies in Indianapolis2007: Heparin error harms twins in...
Hospital errors strike again (and again and again and again!)
on Sep 30, 2008 in Healthcare Patient Safety Thelen By Mike Thelen:Having spent the last 10 years working within Lean disciplines, it is second nature to identify shortcomings in any business model from a Lean perspective. Since I also have two individuals in my immediate family who work in healthcar...
Massachusetts Health Care Quality and Cost Council: Quality and cost transparency or veils?
on Dec 14, 2008 in Consumer-Directed Health Health care policy Health Law Health Savings Accounts Hospitals Managed Care Massachusetts Patient safety Physicians Universal Health Care One of the much-ballyhooed (and predictably delayed and diluted) innovations of the 2006 Massachusetts health care reform and universal access law is the development of an online resource providing cost and quality data in a consumer-friendly format.