The Medical Professionalism Blog
Tag Archives: health care costs
Choosing Wisely® and the Rubik’s Cube®
After speaking at an academic medical center and physician-run health plan about Choosing Wisely, a physician told me that he had concluded that the complexity of implementing the Choosing Wisely recommendations was like solving a Rubik’s Cube. I took that to mean there were multiple changes that all had to align before the recommendations could [...]
Choosing Wisely®: Let the Sunshine In
The day we launched the Choosing Wisely campaign, one year ago, we never envisioned that it would attract the attention of so many physicians across the county. Choosing Wisely has become a catalyst for conversations between patients and physicians. It has provided tools to support both patients and physicians in the pursuit of appropriate health [...]
One Doc’s Reactions to Choosing Wisely®: An Interview with Dr. Blair Erb
Dr. Blair Erb of Bozeman Deaconess Health Group, located in Bozeman, MT, is a Trustee of the American College of Cardiology and sits on the Clinical Quality Committee steering committee. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and in Cardiovascular Disease. His special interests include echocardiography, valvular heart disease and risk factor modification. Dr. Erb [...]
Recommended Reading: April 6 – 12
Catch up on the latest Choosing Wisely® articles in this week’s Recommended Reading: In The Recent Reversal of the Growth Trend in MRI: A Harbinger of the Future?, the authors report that MRI utilization rose sharply from 1998 to 2008 then declined from 2008 to 2010. They cite a number of possible causes for the [...]
Medical Educators Need to Take Charge and Help Deflate Medical Bills
At a time when one in three Americans report difficulty paying medical bills, up to $750 billion is being spent on care that does not help patients become healthier. Although physicians are routinely required to manage expensive resources, traditional medical training offers few opportunities to learn how to deliver the highest quality care at the [...]
Recommended Reading: March 23 – 29
Learn about the roles of patients and physicians in managing health care resources in this week’s Recommended Reading: In “Educating Physicians about Responsible Management of Finite Resources,” ABIM/ABIM Foundation President & CEO Christine K. Cassel, MD and co-authors advocate for physician education in “health care waste, abuse, fraud, and the ethical underpinnings of physician decisions, [...]
Selling Proton Therapy to the Public: High Costs Without Benefit
Arriving in a train station in a Northeast city the other day, I was struck by the number of advertisements for proton therapy at a local academic medical center (AMC) plastered throughout the station and in local subways. The ads feature a bicycle racer with the tag line: “THE WIND IN YOUR FACE IS WORTH [...]
Recommended Reading: February 22 – March 1
This week’s Recommended Reading features the latest articles on wise use of health care resources: The New York Times Well blog covered last week’s Choosing Wisely®press conference announcing the release of 90 more tests and procedures that physicians and patients should question. Jon Tilburt and ABIM/ABIM Foundation President & CEO Christine Cassel explain “Why the [...]
Choosing Wisely®: We Have Just Begun
“The campaign has turned into a movement,” said Christine K. Cassel, CEO of the ABIM Foundation and American Board of Internal Medicine at the February 21st Choosing Wisely® announcement of 18 additional lists of tests physicians and patients should question. Since April 4, 2012, we have received tremendous gifts from the partners in the Choosing [...]
Choosing Wisely®: Continuing Conversations Between Physicians and Patients About Resource Use
In April 2012, the ABIM Foundation, Consumer Reports and nine courageous medical specialty societies launched the Choosing Wisely®campaign by announcing lists of tests and procedures that were prone to overuse and should be discussed between physicians and patients. Today, I’m proud to share that 17 societies are releasing new lists, totaling 90 new things that [...]
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