Reclaiming the Clinical Record to Support Patient Care

Reclaiming the Clinical Record to Support Patient Care

In a recent Ideas and Opinions piece entitled, Restoring the Story and Creating a Valuable Clinical Note in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Gantzer et al call for clinicians to, “…reclaim the clinical note as a means of showing the cognitive processing involved in turning medical information into a thoughtful assessment and plan.” They point out that, “There is a critical distinction between documentation and communication: Communication can document, but documentation alone rarely communicates what matters most.”  They identify two…

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A Message with a Beat on Health Care Quality

A Message with a Beat on Health Care Quality

During the NCQA Health Care Quality Congress last year, I listened to conversations, presentations, questions, and the ideas expressed by attendees and faculty. It was a vibrant conference with many perspectives shared through panels, town hall-like forums, and informal gatherings. I was incredibly impressed by the energy in the rooms, hallways, and receptions. As the last speaker of the conference, I was anxious about what I could offer beyond that which had already been experienced. Therefore, I decided to offer a…

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Healthy Choices Start at a Young Age

Healthy Choices Start at a Young Age

I was finishing up some grocery shopping when I heard a small voice yell, “Yummy!” This was followed by the sound of running and a shriek of joy from a 7-year-old boy skidding to a stop in front of a display case. I turned around and saw a set of shelves with a well-organized array of chocolate-covered candied apples (marked down 50%) and, in the same display, a few trays of blueberries. Fully-expecting the youngster to gravitate to the sweet treats,…

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What Can We Learn from a College Essay about Bees?

What Can We Learn from a College Essay about Bees?

I was in the audience listening to the guest speaker, Dr. John Fleming of ONC, at the NCQA/HL7 Digital Quality Summit on November 1 waiting for my cue to get on stage to kick-off the working part of the meeting. In the audience were policy wonks, health IT experts, measure developers and other interested parties. I was unusually anxious because I had not prepared any opening remarks and only had a scant outline of “must say” announcements from my staff. I…

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Perspectives on Medicine from A Color Film Photography Class

Perspectives on Medicine from A Color Film Photography Class

Thanks to a chance encounter with Bill Wierzalis of Italy in Color at the Annapolis Labor Day festival, I learned about a class he planned to offer on color film photography. Bill is a professional film photographer. I couldn’t wait to take the class after hearing his passion and seeing his incredible photographs. To prepare for the class I had to: a) find a working film camera; b) purchase film; c) shoot at least one roll of pictures. I found…

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Measures for Doc MOC

Measures for Doc MOC

When you hear hoofbeats, think of horses not zebras. -Dr. Theodore Woodward, University of Maryland (1940s) [“MOC” refers to Maintenance of Certification. If you are among those readers not familiar with the term, I suggest that you skip to the Background section before reading further.] The Issues While most physicians would agree that each specialist should possess and maintain a core of knowledge, opinions differ as to how to assess the ability of a physician to apply her/his knowledge, skills, and ability in practice. Among…

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Forever United

Forever United

Anyone old enough remembers where they were and what they were doing when the attack occurred on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. It is seared into our memories and still evokes strong emotions. The days that followed were filled with sadness and anger – but also pride in the way that Americans came together. United. Strong. Unbowed by the aggression. Politics took a pause. Congress even sang God Bless America on the steps of the Capitol. The world shared our pain. Each…

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Lift the Spirit, Catch the Falling

Lift the Spirit, Catch the Falling

From 1999 through 2004, I was the Chief Medical Officer of Baltimore Medical System, Inc (BMS). The clinical and administrative teams at that federally qualified health center are among the most mission-driven and hardworking professionals with whom I have ever had the privilege of serving. Inspired by their efforts, I composed a song in mid-2001 to highlight the excellent care provided and describe a vision of how like-minded people and organizations could change the world. I planned to debut the piece…

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What Can Medical Practices Learn from the Apple Store?

What Can Medical Practices Learn from the Apple Store?

After two years of prodding my spouse to let me buy her a new computer, the old PC left her with no choice – it decided not to wake up. A couple of days later, though, I was able to jumpstart it and we rescued her important files (don’t get me started about how many times I suggested routine backups). Clearly, it was time for a new computer. Off to the Apple Store. We walked out with a new MacBook…

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What Works? Improving HPV Vaccination Coverage

What Works? Improving HPV Vaccination Coverage

This important public health message needs to get out from @CDC and @NCQA on @PubHealthPost: Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all 11- and 12-year-old adolescents receive two doses of the HPV vaccine over a 6-12-month period. From the article: “Normalize” HPV Vaccination Educate patients and providers Provider reminders to patients Provide feedback to providers Increase access to registry data Source: What Works? Improving HPV Vaccination Coverage | Public Health Post