Notes from Eric May 10, 2012
‘Choosing Wisely’ initiative may be a tipping point for costs and ethics
I’ve heard speakers at countless recent meetings call for stemming the rising costs of health care. But none inspired the response I heard from last week’s Birnbaum Lecture with former Medicare chief, Dr. Don Berwick.
As one Group Health clinical leader told me, “This is the first time I’ve really understood why controlling costs is an issue of professional ethics.”
And at the ensuing HMO Research Network (HMORN) conference, the lecture sparked some solid ideas for next steps in research.
Why this momentum? Some might credit Dr. Berwick’s stunning candor and humility recounting a medical error during his pediatric residency—a blood transfusion gone wrong, harming a newborn in his care. With the wisdom of 38 years of hindsight, Dr. Berwick told us what the incident taught him about himself and the potential for health care to do harm—and to prevent it. He convinced our hushed audience of 1,000: Health professionals and their leaders have a moral duty to ensure their patients’ safety, personally and through system improvement.
Then the lecture took a surprising turn as Dr. Berwick began talking about inefficiency and wasted resources.
W. Katon
MD
Team care of chronic diseases seems cost-effective: UW-Group Health approach to depression and diabetes pays off
D. Miglioretti
PhD
Risk factors may inform breast cancer screening; mammograms might benefit women in their 40s with family history or dense breasts
- Naturopathic care can improve blood sugar, mood in diabetes; holistic approach added to benefits of usual care in joint Group Health–Bastyr University study
- Problems in cancer care are not uncommon; difficulties occur more often in communication than in medical care
- ‘Less exhausting, more rewarding’—doctors speak frankly about medical home
- Time to reconsider placebo controls as gold standard?
- Vaccine study provides reassurance on risk of seizures in kids
- Can testosterone treatment prolong life? Large RCTs needed to be sure
- Why post-marketing surveillance may miss a statin side effect
Feature
MacColl Center’s LEAP study scans the nation to solve workforce crisis
E. Wagner
MD, MPH
How can the U.S. primary-care workforce best adapt to an environment with too few providers for its aging patient population and a large influx of previously uninsured Americans? Group Health Research Institute’s MacColl Center for Health Care Innovation aims to find answers as the leader of a national program to help primary-care practices use their workforces more effectively.
People and Programs
Drs. Trescott, Beck, Seelig, Fletcher, and Boudreaux win 2012 Birnbaum Award
APA and NIMH seek Dr. Lin’s expertise
CCHE’s Charbonneau talks health impact assessment at inaugural conference
Dr. Hsu teaches reporters about medical decision making
Honors for Dr. Hubbard’s paper on probability of false-positive mammograms
Dr. Lindenbaum helps set national course for adolescent primary care
Report features Group Health Olympia Medical Center among high performers
EVENTS
Tues., May 22, 4-5 p.m.: “Improving primary care treatment of adolescent depression.” Laura P. Richardson, MD, Adolescent Medicine Specialist, Seattle Children’s Hospital; and Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine.
Medical Library Association 2012 meeting
May 18-23: Held in Seattle, the conference will feature papers, posters, applied research, and important issues in health sciences information management. The closing plenary on comparative effectiveness research includes Michael Parchman, MD, director of GHRI’s MacColl Center for Health Care Innovation.
Subscribe
Suggestions?