(Link to video of this post) Currently, the U.S. spends about 18% of GDP or close to $4 trillion a year on healthcare. That is about $11,000 per person living in the U.S. Our neighbors …
Continue readingCrazy U.S. Healthcare: How Did We Get Here?
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COVID-19: Lessons from Smallpox
Although achieving herd immunity is critical to ending the pandemic, it makes sense to look at this task regionally, rather than by country or state.
Continue readingLet’s Be Careful Out There
We have two choices to crush this pandemic: 1) Vaccination of a large percentage of our population, and 2) Herd immunity. The responsibility of all of us in healthcare is to follow the science, share what we know with the public, and be careful in how we do so.
Continue readingIs it Safe to Reopen Schools?
Our country now faces the most significant public health crisis in more than a century. The COVID-19 virus has upended our lives and put all of us at risk for illness. As we approach the …
Continue readingFinal Two Phases on the Road to Recovery
In my first two articles on our road to recovery, I covered the first two phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. In them I shared my thoughts on how provider organizations could restart their service lines …
Continue readingPhase 2: Next Stop on Provider Road to Recovery
In Phase 2, businesses expand their services and modify their business practices (e.g., limited seating in restaurants). The COVID-19 disease incidence rate will plateau with a steady number of new cases reported daily. Although researchers are hard at work, we will not have a meaningful treatment or vaccine. As we enter Phase 2 of the pandemic, provider organizations should adjust to the changes in healthcare delivery to take advantage of the opportunities presented.
Continue readingWhen in Crisis Mode, Let Everyone Follow the Data
During normal times, managers often make decisions based on their knowledge and experience; analysis of data to varying degrees informs that decision-making process. Circumstances change at an easily manageable pace, errors in judgment can be corrected, and the impact of those poor choices is often insignificant. During a healthcare crisis, however, the cost of being wrong is exponential.
Continue readingProvider Road to Recovery: Phase 1
To survive, provider organizations must quickly restore their previous revenue streams while preparing for the potential next waves of the pandemic. Successful recovery for these organizations is not represented by a return to the old ways of providing services.
Continue readingWhat to Think About Once We Start Containment
Will Americans allow themselves to be tracked via their mobile phones, credit card transactions, and CCTV video to halt the pandemic? How much privacy will Americans give up to return to a semblance of normal?
Continue readingWe Need Data
Gut feelings and “I think” or “I believe” no longer carry weight. The regular use of data by decision makers will hopefully be one that helps prevent a crisis of this magnitude from occurring again.
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