The Importance of Humanism vs. Heroism in Healthcare

A hero is understood to be a person who performs an exceptional feat, putting others in front of oneself. The ideal of heroism represents the convention that an individual can accomplish more than seems possible. The heroic narrative extols three traits: individual skill, willingness to sacrifice, and stoicism in the face of physical and emotional hardship. The culture… Read More »

Healthy Equity is A Critical Part of Value-Based Payment Models

As value-based payment models have continued to expand, this expansion has occurred in the more affluent communities. Additionally, communities with more socioeconomically vulnerable individuals were less likely to be selected for joint replacement bundles, another form of a value-based payment. A big reason for this lack of equitable distribution of value-based care, can be linked to the absence… Read More »

How Do We Support Primary Care?

Primary care in the United States accounts for more than one-half of all outpatient visits. Moreover, regardless of the clinical models, primary care is at the core. Unquestionably, primary care is at the center of health equity and preventive care. However, it receives a relatively modest proportion of resources, possesses no federal coordinating capacity, no dedicated research support,… Read More »

Understanding and Identifying Vaccine Hesitancy

As we continue to focus on optimally providing COVID vaccinations for as many people as possible, there has been a digression into labeling those that are not yet immunized, as being “hesitant.” This labeling oversimplifies the situation and is frankly, incorrect in many cases. Simplifying such language is detrimental to our vaccine success. Similarly, when we identify people… Read More »

COVID and the Effect on the Residency Application Cycle

Closing down the country for a year has had consequences on many different areas that may have not initially come to mind. Therefore, in times of crisis, significant learnings may arise if we are open to them and do not revert to previous behaviors and actions. The impact on the residency application process and the final year of… Read More »

CMS STARS ratings – It’s Time for a Change

In 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced the Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating Program to create transparency on hospitals’ quality, by summarizing dozens of metrics on the Hospital Compare website. There was considerable consternation over the validity of the data. In addition to comparing all hospitals to each other, regardless of unique dynamics, all… Read More »

Workforce Wellness Programs: Are They Focused on the Wrong Thing?

Recently, there has been an ongoing debate over the value of workplace wellness programs. It is logical to think that to improve a person’s health, you can provide them with support services such as weight management and disease intervention plans through their worksite and ultimately their health will improve, and costs will decrease for both the employee and… Read More »

Understanding the Design Characteristics of Primary Care Capitation

Capitation, as a value-based payment model, has been around for decades. Many of us have experimented with variations of capitation, ranging from full capitation for all healthcare services to specialist capitation, to primary care (PCP) capitation. Currently, Primary Care Clinicians are much more comfortable with the nuances of these models because of the expansion of Medicare Advantage. This… Read More »

Taking a Look at What Causes Low-Value Care

Low-value care is defined as the utilization of health services that harm or in which the costs outweigh the possible benefits and there are many reasons for these actions. The desire for clinicians to eliminate situations that might cause harm is a driving factor. Although they may be unable to inform you of precisely what is occurring in… Read More »

There is Wastefulness in a Vial, But We Can Do Better

As we continue to examine areas of excessive waste to enhance affordability, it’s crucial to put all areas under the microscope, including pharmaceuticals. Though convenient, single-dose injection vials lead to wasted medication. In fact, in 2018, the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) reportedly paid $725 million for discarded drugs administered in hospital outpatient clinics and physician… Read More »