MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'don berwick'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:52:15 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4953041&cid=t_166766_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2FnWMJGlMU1wU%2F While people continue to demonize CMS Administrator Dr. Donald Berwick and President Obama essentially throws Berwick under the political bus, far too many are missing the message. Wouldn’t “radical communist thugs” like one commenter on this YouTube page labeled the Obama administration really want to dehumanize patient care? Watch this short video of Berwick speaking in Berlin in 2009 (yes, socialist Europe). He talks about how patient care already has been dehumanized and how healthcare professionals and organizations routinely ignore the wishes of patients. Speaking of a friend who couldn’t get mammogram results over the phone, Berwick said, “Their choice trumps her choice. Period. And that’s what scares me. It scares me to be made helpless before my... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4953041 Mon, 20 Jun 2011 04:52:26 +0100 4953041 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893605&cid=t_166766_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2F0g_GyIRAV-M%2F In just the last few hours, I’ve seen a huge wave of pushback and doubt about Watson, the IBM supercomputer, being used for clinical decision support. Yesterday, I covered a “healthcare leadership exchange” at IBM’s new Healthcare Innovation Lab in downtown Chicago. I posted some of my observations on the EMR and HIPAA blog, and made the case for diagnostic decision support. I also wrote a story for InformationWeek, but that hasn’t run. Instead of posting my story, InformationWeek healthcare editor Paul Cerrato wrote a column about Watson already being “beaten in the medical diagnostics race” by Isabel Healthcare, a diagnostic decision support tool that’s been available for years. I have to admit, he’s right. I first interviewed Isabel ... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893605 Sat, 04 Jun 2011 00:37:50 +0100 4893605 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4828879&cid=t_166766_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fall-attempts-to-reduce-bureaucracy-in-the-healthcare-system-will-increase-it%2F2011.05.17 “The media is the message.” It does not matter if the policy has failed previously.  All that is important is the effectiveness of the policy’s presentation and its ability to manipulate the polls. The government’s purpose is to work for the people who elected it. It does not seem to be working that way at present. Bureaucrats create rules or regulations as they interpret the laws made by congress and the president. Regulations are controlled by the administration’s ideology. Many times the regulations in one area nullify the intended effect in another area. Regulations and bureaucracy inhibit the use of common sense in policy making for the benefit of the people. The people did not have an outlet to express their opinions or frustrations until blogging came into its own seven y... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4828879 Tue, 17 May 2011 12:29:19 +0100 4828879 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4696712&cid=t_166766_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2FnZFN64nSeww%2F It’s been a full decade since the Institute of Medicine published the second volume in its landmark series on patient safety and quality of care, Crossing the Quality Chasm. We appear to be not much closer to achieving a high-quality health system as we were 10 years ago. Last week, as you may have already heard, a paper in Health Affairs from researchers at the University of Utah concluded that adverse events may be 10 times more prevalent than previously believed and that errors may occur in an astounding one-third of all hospital admissions. The research team, which included such luminaries as Dr. David Classen, Dr. Brent James and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement‘s Frank Federico, also said that there estimates probably were on the conservative side. Patient-safety ... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4696712 Sun, 10 Apr 2011 21:07:53 +0100 4696712 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4670192&cid=t_166766_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2F_hBCdv1Il8k%2F It’s time for another baseball season, and Health Wonk Review is ready to go. as with the Spring Training Edition two weeks ago, optimism reigns. (Host Jason Shafrin of the Healthcare Economist blog proves it by calling for the Milwaukee Brewers to win the World Series this year. I guess cheeseheads are still from the Green Bay Packers’ victory in the Super Bowl two months ago.) I didn’t make the starting lineup, but am an early choice from the bullpen for my “Slams on Berwick are getting pathetic” post. Curiously, Shafrin wades away from the controversy a bit by highlighting something said by a person I’m critiquing, namely that comparative effectiveness research “doesn’t work in the real world.” Not surprisingly, no post related to he... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4670192 Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:05:28 +0100 4670192 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4626886&cid=t_166766_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2FuP93TL-iZGE%2F The slams on Dr. Donald Berwick, frankly, are getting pathetic. Today, Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel dismissed Berwick as a “basically a policy wonk” who “hasn’t really practiced since 1989.” Siegel tried to score points with sound bites. “This guy has more quotes than Yogi Berra, and let me tell you something, these quotes are an indictment on people that want clinicians to make decisions,” Siegel said on Fox this afternoon. Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com According to Siegel, comparative effectiveness “doesn’t work in the real world.” Well, sure, that’s the point of clinical decision support. Best practices are for common conditions, and clinical decision support is to help physicians either foll... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4626886 Wed, 23 Mar 2011 22:11:49 +0100 4626886 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4622323&cid=t_166766_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2FUMmNnpjnUbY%2F Satirical newspaper The Onion (“America’s Finest News Source”) is on its game once again. Many of you probably have already seen the story from last week, headlined, “Quick-Lube Shop Masters Electronic Record Keeping Six Years Before Medical Industry.” (I tweeted about it over the weekend and some other healthcare blogs have posted it.) An excerpt: “We figured that a basic database would help us with everything from scheduling regular appointments to predicting future lubrication requirements,” said the proprietor of the local oil-change shop, Karl Lemke, who has no special logistical or programming skills, and who described his organizational methods, which are far more advanced than those of any hospital emergency room, as “basic, common-se... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4622323 Tue, 22 Mar 2011 15:46:18 +0100 4622323 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4615222&cid=t_166766_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2FPH-LM6dEKO4%2F On Jan. 28, Ron Pollack, executive director of the liberal advocacy group Families USA, introduced President Obama at a Families USA event by saying, “Numerous presidents over many decades tried to secure health reform legislation that would move us toward high-quality, affordable healthcare for all Americans. You, Mr. President, actually achieved it.” The crowd ate it up. During the contentious debate over health reform in 2009 and 2010, countless lobbyists, pundits and politicians touted “quality healthcare” as a reason to pass the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Some called for the same “Cadillac” health plans that members of Congress provided for themselves. Many opponents of the legislation countered by saying the U.S. already has the &#... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4615222 Sun, 20 Mar 2011 19:10:14 +0100 4615222 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4605901&cid=t_166766_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2FriAKPBS788o%2F   The sun is shining here in Chicago and the mercury is supposed to hit 60 degrees today for the first time in months. That could mean only one thing: Spring is in the air, and hope springs eternal, even for the star-crossed Cubs. Though it’s still spring training, noted Yankees fan Glenn Laffel of the Pizaazz blog is in midseason form as he hosts this week’s Health Wonk Review, with an all-star lineup of contributors. My impassioned defense of Don Berwick makes the big-league roster among the sluggers (health policy), while health IT gets its due respect as a disruptive force by being categorized as the base-stealers. Of note, longtime HIT blogger Shahid Shah, known as the Healthcare IT Guy, talks security. “I hear a lot of naive talk about how systems are secure b... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4605901 Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:13:26 +0100 4605901 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4592493&cid=t_166766_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2FopWr_wehgR8%2F President Barack Obama has made plenty of mistakes in his first two-plus years in office, but none may be more serious for the future of America than his decision to install Donald M. Berwick, M.D., as a recess appointment to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in July 2010. Berwick really is a great choice to head CMS, but the underhanded nature of the recess appointment has provided fodder for all kinds of uninformed ideologues and assorted nut jobs to attack Obama’s healthcare reform efforts. Just as CMS is gearing up to release widely anticipated proposed regulations for Accountable Care Organizations, we get the sad news that that Berwick’s days are numbered. After refusing to allow Berwick to testify before the Senate last year, Obama renominated Berwick on Jan. 2... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4592493 Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:21:58 +0100 4592493 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4570607&cid=t_166766_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FNeilVerselsHealthcareItBlog%2F%7E3%2Fci3mKyd-Tpc%2F Leave it to those in the ivory tower of Modern Healthcare to screw up something as simple as an unscientific poll about who should be the next national coordinator for health IT.  The poll lists a whopping two dozen names, ranging from the obvious—Dr. John Halamka, Dr. Paul Tang, current deputy national coordinator Dr. Farzad Mostashari—to the dark horse—Dr. Robert Hitchcock of T-System, Paula Gregory of the “Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicince” (sic)—and even a few laughable listings. For one thing, Dr. David Brailer is on the list. The first national coordinator (2004-06) left Washington because he wanted to be with his family in San Francisco. He’s currently running a $700 million equity investment firm and couldn’t possibly want to get back in... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4570607 Thu, 10 Mar 2011 23:35:02 +0100 4570607 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4167956&cid=t_166766_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhealthcare-decision-making-and-don-berwicks-leaders-with-plans%2F2010.11.15 From a recent post of the Retired Doc’s Thoughts blog entitled “What Are the Plans Of Don Berwick’s ‘Leaders With Plans?’“: “I wonder which is worse: A medical leader recommending price controls out of ignorance of basic economics or being aware of the likely outcomes and mak[ing] that recommendation anyway?” Wow. I’m speechless. Thanks to Retired Doc for getting this out in a cogent summary. *This blog post was originally published at GruntDoc* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4167956 Mon, 15 Nov 2010 23:00:55 +0100 4167956 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4003255&cid=t_166766_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-medicare-reform-act-smoke-and-mirrors-for-patients-and-physicians%2F2010.09.27 An interesting debate occurred in the Washington Post between Michael Leavitt, former secretary of Health and Human Services and a member of the Medicare Board of Trustees from 2005 to 2009, and Dr. Don Berwick, the director of CMS. Michael Leavitt wrote a scathing article criticizing President Obama’s Medicare Reform Act calling it an illusion. Don Berwick wrote a rebuttal to Michael Leavitt’s article. Michael Leavitt starts off his article by stating: “Despite the report from Medicare’s trustees this month that the hospital insurance trust fund will not be depleted until 2029, 12 years later than was predicted just last year, Medicare is no better off than it was a year ago. “ The Medicare Trustees Report was strange. Nothing was done to change anything and all of a sudden,... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4003255 Mon, 27 Sep 2010 19:00:29 +0100 4003255 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3902899&cid=t_166766_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-gift-of-being-a-doctor-what-are-you-going-to-do-with-it%2F2010.08.25 I’m going to do something unusual: Reprint in its entirety a commentary from a fourth-year medical student, Jonathan. He posted it in response to comments from other readers to my blog about Dr. Berwick’s commencement address to his daughter’s medical school class. I tweeted about Jonathan’s post, calling it a needed voice of idealism at a cynical time. This is what Jonathan had to say to his physician colleagues: “To begin, I am a fourth-year medical student going into primary care and this directly applies to me. We have two options when reading [Dr. Berwick's] address. We can take, in my opinion, the weak road or the strong road. Our new generation, as well as the one that raised us, is one of apathy and selfishness. We are only concerned about how changes ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3902899 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:00:00 +0100 3902899 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3790706&cid=t_166766_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fpublic-service-does-having-an-opinion-disqualify-you%2F2010.07.26 Many conservatives are up-in-arms about President Obama’s decision to appoint Don Berwick, a pediatrician and renowned expert in quality improvement and patient safety, to lead the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). They object to Dr. Berwick’s views on a range of issues, and to Obama’s decision to use his office’s authority to appoint Dr. Berwick while the Senate was out on a short Independence Day holiday recess. As a “recess appointment,” Dr. Berwick was able to take office without Senate hearings and confirmation, but he can only serve through the end of the 111th Congress — that is, until the end of 2011 — unless ratified by the Senate. Berwick, though, also has many supporters. Maggie Mahar articulates the “pro&#8221... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3790706 Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:00:00 +0100 3790706 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3757866&cid=t_166766_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fdr-don-berwicks-patient-centered-medicine%2F2010.07.15 There’s been a bit of buzz in the health blogs over President Obama’s decision last week to use the mechanism of a recess appointment to be the director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Recess appointments, for those who may not be aware, allow a President to put a nominee in place when Congress is in recess in order to have him in place without the messy process of having him approved by the Senate. True, the Senate still has to approve a recess appointment by the end of its term, or the seat goes vacant again, but it’s an excellent way to avoid having nasty confirmation fights during election years. Of course, both parties do it, and the reaction of pundits, bloggers, and politicians tend to fall strictly along partisan lines. If you support the President, t... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3757866 Thu, 15 Jul 2010 12:00:36 +0100 3757866 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3753826&cid=t_166766_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-free-stuff-of-healthcare-reform%2F2010.07.14 It happened. Guilty. I confess. Reading about Dr. Berwick’s recess appointment to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) induced me to watch a Fox news clip. Gosh, I feel bad about it. It felt good, though. Patients — that’s you and me — should know that CMS controls doctors, nurses and especially hospital/practice managers. They are ten times more scary than the radar patrol car on the highway. Dr. Berwick likes the British system of healthcare delivery. In Europe healthcare is free, and everyone likes free stuff. Free stuff happens all the time, doesn’t it? In Cambridge, Mass — at Harvard — free stuff for all seems a plausible tenet. There must be a lot of coffee shops and free time in Cambridge. In the real world — on Ma... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3753826 Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:00:00 +0100 3753826 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3432984&cid=t_166766_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Fclinicalit.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F04%2Fhealth-wonk-review-reform-edition.html Though I don't really think the "historic," recently enacted legislation on health insurance is true "reform," the latest edition of Health Wonk Review, hosted by Rich Elmore at Healthcare Technology News, focuses on this subject. (Elmore has several images of pigs flying. I'll have more later on why I don't think this is such a landmark event.)My column in FierceHealthIT about the implications for health IT with Don Berwick being chosen to head CMS is one of the posts reviewed. I guess that makes me a wonk. (Source: Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog) Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3432984 Thu, 01 Apr 2010 20:21:00 +0100 3432984 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3420578&cid=t_166766_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Fclinicalit.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fmy-take-on-berwick-heading-cms.html Here's what I have to say, in FierceHealthIT, about Dr. Don Berwick being named CMS administrator: http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/cms-chief-berwick-will-embrace-it-long-it-improves-quality/2010-03-29Your feedback is appreciated. (Source: Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog) Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3420578 Mon, 29 Mar 2010 18:05:00 +0100 3420578 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2121420&cid=t_166766_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Fclinicalit.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F01%2Fcms-update.html Everybody is looking for information about Charlene Frizzera. You can stop. The bottom line is that CMS will not be making a bio available.CMS spokesperson Peter Ashkenaz informs me that Frizzera's role as acting administrator is, just that, purely administrative. Until a permanent CMS administrator is in place, Frizzera, the chief operating officer and a career professional, will essentially be "making sure the trains run on time," according to Ashkenaz. As seems to be traditional when the incumbent party loses the White House, one of President Obama's first acts in office was to halt all pending Bush administration regulations for internal review. That means no federal department or agency will be issuing any new rules or finalizing anything in the works until the Obama administration sa... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2121420 Wed, 21 Jan 2009 23:24:00 +0100 2121420 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2086801&cid=t_166766_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Fclinicalit.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F01%2Fmodest-feedback.html A couple of months ago, I posted, "A modest proposal," my observations about a session on clinical decision support from the American Medical Informatics Association annual meeting. In it, I argued that medical informatics needed a rock star of sorts to help humanize the issue of clinical decision support and communicate the benefits of such technology to the general public.I got three comments on that post—actually pretty high for this blog—as well as several e-mails. One correspondent said we need more than a rock star, we need the whole band. I passed that comment on to Dr. Bill Bria, CMIO of Shriners Hospitals for Children, who was part of the panel at the AMIA meeting, who told me that he once led an all-physician rock band called the Straight Caths. It still may take the Rolling ... Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2086801 Wed, 07 Jan 2009 07:25:00 +0100 2086801 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1525890&cid=t_166766_113_f&fid=34625&url=http%3A%2F%2Fclinicalit.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F06%2Fmystery-solved.html A couple of weeks ago, I e-mailed some friends and colleagues in the biz wondering who originally said that installing an EMR without considering workflow redesign was just automating chaos. I surmised it was likely Don Berwick, David Brailer or Bill Stead.One response said that, just like with Yogi Berra or Winston Churchill, I could always attribute it to Berwick and people would believe me. As it turned out, it was none of the above—not even Churchill.In fact, the originator of the quote was Larry Weed. Weed even used the "automating chaos" line in an interview he did with me in 2004. In fact, he's one of the most quotable people I've ever had the privilege of interviewing, which I also did in 2006. (Source: Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog) Neil Versel's Healthcare IT Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1525890 Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:24:00 +0100 1525890 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1184649&cid=t_166766_117_f&fid=34612&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedoctorweighsin.com%2Fjournal%2F2008%2F1%2F28%2Ffamilies-usa-health-action-2008-berwick-on-everything-health.html Brian Klepper  One of the pleasures of the Families USA Health Action conference was that the speakers represented a nice blend of top politicians and genuine health care experts. Tony Fauci MD, the wonderful head of NIH's National Institutes for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, who talked about Global Health, was followed by the equally impressive Don Berwick MD, the Founder and leader of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. I've heard Dr. Berwick speak several times and am always delighted by his cogent, comfortable, sensible presentations. I can think of several people who, if they gave one, deserve a health care Nobel Prize for the positive impact they've had on millions of people through their work to change the industry. Dr. Berwick is one. (Others include Jack Wenn... The Doctor Weighs In blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1184649 Mon, 28 Jan 2008 20:48:00 +0100 1184649