Kaiser Permanente has been a leader in integrated healthcare for decades. It started as a plan to cover workers building the Hoover Dam, and has spread to become a dominant force primarily on the west coast. It has over six million members in California alone. Kaiser does a lot of things...
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I’ve written in the past about a few long-term studies of bariatric surgery outcomes as a treatment for morbid obesity. They found that the incidence of diabetes is reduced in morbidly obese patients who undergo this surgery, and even reverses diabetes and hypertension in some cases. From a cost perspective, what...
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An article in Forbes recently questioned the value of patient satisfaction scores for both pay-for-performance schemes and as markers of quality and value in general. The article effectively exposed the inordinate sway Press Ganey has on the hearts and minds of hospital administrators. Press Ganey is an influential patient satisfaction survey...
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On Sunday, CNN will have two shows on healthcare. The first one starts at 7 ET/6 CT. Then there is a reaction show on how to fix healthcare at 9 ET/8 CT. Sanjay Gupta will be the host. But the real reason to watch is that one of his guests will...
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I must say, I’m very proud of the American Academy of Family Physicians for continuing to make statements about over-testing under the Choosing Wisely campaign umbrella. The Academy is more known for making wussy statements and taking wussy actions — the RUC wimp out being the prime example. So I salute...
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