Category: Policy

How closing rural hospitals cost patient lives

For more than 30 minutes, Robert Findley lay unconscious in the back of an ambulance next to Mercy Hospital Fort Scott on a frigid February morning with paramedics hand-pumping oxygen into his lungs. A helipad sat just across the icy parking lot from t…

An attorney pushes back on a physician’s critique of the medical liability system

I was struck by a post by Dr. Saurabh Jha about his views of the jury system — as some of his comments mirrored things I’ve said to juries in the past. Some things he got right, which go to the core our civil justice system. Some things, however, not s…

Quality improvement: Helping boost everyone’s triple aim

Recently, the Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH), L.A. Care Health Plan, and the Southwest Pediatric Practice Transformation Network (a partnership of CHOC Children’s Hospital and Rady Children’s Hospital) came together to announce some incredible…

Gun violence in America is a national emergency.

Gun violence in America is a national emergency. We are tired of suturing closed bullet holes that our society refuses to prevent. Congress should return to Washington during the August recess and legislate universal background checks for all gun sales…

Is direct contracting an answer to soaring health costs?

Colorado’s ski resort areas in Summit County have a high cost of living, among the highest in the country. The people who visit these places — Keystone, Breckenridge and Copper Mountain ­— can afford it. Many of those who live and work there can’t, esp…

While pharmacy benefit managers are watching cable, patients are streaming Netflix

Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) including Express Scripts, CVS Health, and OptumRX are the subject of intense criticism by virtually everyone in medicine and politics. While the purpose of PBM’s group purchasing business model was intended to contribu…

Taking guns away from people in crisis: Does it work?

In his response to mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, President Donald Trump called for an expansion of state laws that temporarily prevent someone in crisis from buying or possessing a gun. A flurry of states have recently passed such…

Taking guns away from people in crisis: Does it work?

In his response to mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, President Donald Trump called for an expansion of state laws that temporarily prevent someone in crisis from buying or possessing a gun. A flurry of states have recently passed such…

A call to arms: We are all part of the health care solution

Sunlight is diminished by threatening clouds infiltrating the once azure blue sky, clouds that are framed in blackness indicating dangerous times ahead.  Nature’s creatures are seeking refuge for they are wise to see the signs of impending danger…

The government’s role in compelling individual actions for public health

I wrote about this topic a few years back, but the recent outbreak of measles has once again ignited the debate of just what the government has the right to do or not do in compelling individual actions in support of public health. This is an old quest…