Big Pharma spends billions of dollars on advertising that teaches the public how to say the names of their products. While millions of people live with hypertension, many of them cannot remember the name of their diagnosis or what it means. This episode discusses healthcare communication and shares helpful models for improvement. Key Points: -Big P…

Have you ever noticed how admission orders can be corrected, but a faulty discharge is nearly impossible to correct? Today's episode explores fake deaths, inaccurate discharges, and how to begin solving for resurrection errors in healthcare. Key Points: -Fake deaths are common -Computers do not believe in resurrection -Discharges are surprisingly i…

What can a con-man teach us about patient safety? Sometimes normal human reactions are just what is needed to breach protocol and result in harm. Today's episode explores the relationship between the perfect heist and safety culture. Key Points: -Reaction Videos -Dual Auditing -Decoys and False Alarms References: Diaz, Naomi (Nov. 17th, 2022). Why …

Infectious disease fascinates me. When the State of Texas offers a free certification program in pandemic preparedness, including courses in epidemiology and infectious disease, I'm eager to sign up. Tune in to hear some of what I loved, what I didn't love, and why access to this type of knowledge is a great opportunity overall. Key Points: -Public…

Have you noticed how busy the clinic waiting rooms are becoming? As the largest living generation retires from providing care and seeks to receive it, our primary care models are experiencing new challenges. This episode seeks to focus our efforts on an improvement mindset as we manage the surge of patients. Key Points: -Blocking the Door -Black Fr…

Have you ever been asked to sign that you'll pay whatever is "leftover" from your bill -- without knowing the total? This episode uses a risk approach to discuss the expectation that patients must promise to pay to an infinite and undefinable cost, and shares solutions that fit a patient safety model using clear communication and patient-empowered …

Is it possible that one of our top safety interventions could increase the risk of patient harm? Why do some huddles seem so fruitful while others fall short? This episode shares 5 pitfalls of the typical staff huddle with tips on how to improve their productivity without increasing the risk for clinical errors. Key Points: -Reality is not like the…

Does healthcare improvement sometimes feel like an impossible task? This episode looks at ways to refresh more than the data, but also our outlook and understanding, through an analytical approach. Key Points: -Time to give up? -Human rights applications -Breaking it down References: -World Vision International. (Feb. 9th, 2018). A Stolen Trombone,…

Have you noticed there are a lot of companies diving into primary care and then quickly exiting--or how many of these ventures carry the term "health" in their title rather than "healthcare"? This episode explores the dichotomy of healthcare that treats the sick and health companies that provide primary care for the healthy, including recommendatio…

Have you ever experienced unintended consequences in your efforts to improve healthcare quality? Is there a better way to find solutions to persistent problems? This episode applies the principles of Precision Medicine -- with its individualized, scientific approach -- to the field of healthcare improvement. Key Points: -Viper Reimbursement -Magic …

Patient Decision-Making is supposed to be the goal, but just defining it can cause a heated argument. What prevents it from happening, and how can we overcome those barriers? This episode uncovers a missing piece in patient decision-making, and offers recommendations for a solid patient-centered framework. Key Points: -Speak Up campaigns -Obscure l…

This Patient Safety Week, I had the honor of sitting down with healthcare tech and e-iatrogenesis expert Benjamin Cooperman to discuss my toughest questions about digital harm, healthcare cybersecurity, and high reliability organizing (HRO) in the healthcare tech space. He has an extensive background in information technology and HRO consulting in …

The topic of Artificial Intelligence and healthcare tech often prompts polarized responses across the industry. Will AI replace doctors? Will technology alleviate burnout, or worsen it? What do we need most in the development of healthcare innovation? Today's episode shares some cautionary tales as well as tips for success. Key Points: -Decision su…

Nearly 10 years ago, the goal of mandatory electronic documentation was to improve patient engagement, care coordination, research, disparity, and healthcare quality. As we look toward the next wave of requirements for interoperability, this episode reviews our progress toward these goals and shares recommendations for the future. Key Points: -Is d…

Why do some patients prefer to spend $100 on imported frankincense oil than spend the same amount on a clinic visit? What can alternative medicine tell us about measuring patient satisfaction? Today's episode discusses these novel trends. Key Points: -Why essential oils? -Limits of patient satisfaction metrics -The patient's voice References: -“Vap…

Why do healthcare professionals shy away from working in scenic rural areas, even when they are offered the comfort of broadband internet and affordable housing? Today's episode addresses the two reasons why doctors and nurses avoid rural health and how innovators around the world are solving those problems. Key Points: -The new Netropolis -Rwanda'…

What is the greatest risk to your organization and how can you tell? What does a "good" solution look like? Today's episode shares how to use a risk assessment to identify hot spots in your organization and innovate for the best solutions. Key Points: -Relative risk? -Scoring Risks -Discussing solutions References: -Fox, Andrea (May 31, 2023). Flor…

Are there trails blazed outside the system’s parameters that frustrate planners? This episode discusses “desire paths” in sidewalk design as an example for surgical staffing, and looks at how AI could help us get a better understanding of employee behavior and trends. What will we find if we stop to listen to the footfalls of our healthcare communi…

Have you noticed that physicians are doing a lot more clerical work these days, staying late to answer email and sit on the phone? Does your organization require a graduate degree for simple data entry jobs? Today's episode talks about Eduflation, the cost of down-skilling our experts, and ways to measure and prove our value to an organization. Key…

Why are roles so vague today? What does quiet quitting say about our processes? What organizational improvement could remedy the cause of quiet quitting? Today's episode dives into the world of job descriptions, organizational goals and quiet quitting from a process perspective with solutions based on solid improvement principles. Key Points: -Job …

This Healthcare Quality Week, I had the honor of sitting down with esteemed High Reliability Organizing (HRO) expert Craig Clapper to discuss my toughest questions about patient safety and quality improvement. He has a background in nuclear engineering and an emphasis in good humor, resulting in a conversation that was both compassionate and though…

By 2034, the Baby Boomers will leave the workplace: We will have more demand for healthcare than the supply of workers. What can we do to manage this demographic cliff? Today's episode provides practical examples and workforce solutions for organizations of any size. Key Points: -Clinicians as alarms -Demographic Brain Drain -Shared Results and Opp…

Communication in healthcare can be a real challenge. Today's episode explores patient needs, the speaker-audience relationship, jargon, and misinformation in healthcare. Key Points: -Health education is tricky -Jargon is not patient-centered -Nuance and clarity References: -Leonard SA, Main EK, Scott KA, Profit J, Carmichael SL (2019). Racial and e…