In 1985 I had the good fortune to study in Sweden. I made many good friends and loved the natural beauty. I also learned a lot about healthcare in what is essentially a socialist country. Sweden was (and is) by no means perfect. Progressive taxation had disincentivized hard work leading to something of a brain […]
Healthcare Policy
Hospitals and the Open-door Transfer Policy: Can We Do a Better Job?
Several weeks ago I was presented with a CT scan on a new patient, a young woman with a severe headache who had been transferred overnight by air ambulance from another hospital. As a center that specializes in diseases of the nervous system, my facility, the Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI), routinely accepts people from around […]
Emergency Care by Appointment: An Oxymoron?
In a recent WSJ article entitled “Why ER Visits for Non-Emergencies Aren’t Going Away,” Dr. Paul Auerbach, a teaching professor of Emergency Medicine at Stanford’s School of Medicine, summarizes some of the critical factors contributing to and causing over utilization within emergency departments. As outlined by Dr. Auerbach, emergency departments are currently a necessary part […]
The Behavioral Health Two Step
Behavioral health has always been something of a pariah in America. If you have cancer, you can expect sympathy. If you are depressed, you’re more likely to be told to snap out of it. In part I believe this has to do with our culture. Americans practice a form of heroic medicine, placing a high […]
Legal, Technical and (Most Importantly) Trust- 3 Obstacles to Value Based Care
Recently I attended a symposium hosted by Jim Molpus and his team from HealthLeaders Media. Jim does an excellent job bringing healthcare systems together from around the country for honest conversations relating to what’s working (and not working) in their organizations. The recent event centered on population management and the transition to value based care. […]
Do We Really Need Another Urgent Care?
I’m worried. Throughout my life I’ve largely been a proponent of technology. However, more and more I’ve realized that technology, or at least how technology is used, sometimes hurts more than it helps. The current rapid expansion of telemedicine into the urgent care space may be a case in point. Urgent care centers are […]