The Medical Professionalism Blog
Tag Archives: professional values
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 9 – 15
This week’s Recommended Reading includes new articles by ABIM staff and Foundation Trustees, along with a study of common professionalism “dilemmas”: In the latest issue of Health Affairs, ABIM staff members Elizabeth Bernabeo and Eric Holmboe outline the competencies needed by patients, providers, and systems to achieve patient-centered care. Also in Health Affairs, ABIM Foundation [...]
Where Do the Savings Go When Waste is Removed?
Recently, I spoke on a panel at a NEHI (New England Health Institute) Roundtable Discussion in Washington, DC on bending the cost curve. NEHI had released a list of actions that could reduce costs by more than $700 million and improve quality of care. Their recommendations included reducing medication errors, reducing antibiotic use, improving patient [...]
Recommended Reading: January 25 – February 1
Check out the latest articles on professionalism in medical schools and unnecessary care in this week’s Recommended Reading: In “Creating a Longitudinal Environment of Awareness: Teaching Professionalism Outside the Anatomy Laboratory,” a fourth-year medical student reflects on the opportunities to teach professionalism in basic science courses in medical school. He argues that while educators have [...]
Choosing Wisely®: Can Stories and Emotions Produce Change?
At the recent annual meeting of the Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI), Fred Hafferty of the Mayo Clinic and I gave a presentation on the effect systems have on the professional behaviors of clinicians. I asked the 100 or so attendees if they thought intrinsic (i.e., personal satisfaction and mastery) or extrinsic (i.e., payment) motivators [...]
Recommended Reading: Reflecting on the Choosing Wisely Journal Articles of 2012
Since nine medical specialty societies announced their lists of “Five Things Physicians and Patients Should Question” in April, 55 published journal articles have referenced the Choosing Wisely® campaign. For the final Recommended Reading post of 2012, we’ve culled a selection of those articles, and will share more in the new year. In order of publication [...]
Recommended Reading: December 8 – 14
This week’s Recommended Reading contains a roundup of the latest articles on medical professionalism. In a new JAMA commentary the authors examine the impact of duty hour restrictions on residents’ professionalism. They assert that trainees currently exhibit “nostalgic professionalism” by placing the needs of patients and the profession above personal well-being. The authors feel that [...]
Physician Skepticism About Industry-Funded Clinical Trials
In a recent New England Journal of Medicine article “A randomized study of how physicians interpret research funding disclosures” Dr. Kesselheim and colleagues found that internists harbor mistrust of industry-funded clinical trials. In his accompanying editorial, Dr. Jeffrey Drazen states that “how trials influence practice should be based on the quality of the information conveyed [...]
Recommended Reading: November 24 – 30
This week’s Recommended Reading features articles on low-value health care services in both the United States and Australia, along with a piece on emotional support for physicians coping with medical errors and adverse events: In a new Archives of Internal Medicine article, the authors report that diagnostic tests are frequently repeated among Medicare beneficiaries. Such [...]
Recommended Reading: November 10 – 16
Catch up on the latest articles on medical professionalism in this week’s Recommended Reading: A new article in Health Affairs discusses the development of the Teamwork Effectiveness Assessment Module (TEAM), a tool for physicians to evaluate how they perform as part of an interprofessional patient care team. This research was funded in part by the ABIM [...]
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