Our Own System - Drew Weilage

New Site!

I currently blog at http://ourownsystem.com.

Housekeeping

New RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ourownsystem.

Changing.

In a few days this website will look differently.  You'll have to update your RSS feed if that's how you roll.  Nothing drastic, just a new look with a new blogging platform.  Bad news is that Tumblr doesn't yet allow for the easy importation of old posts...so until that function is made easier the blog archives will appear here.  The new website will be here.

Admitting we have a problem(s, many of them)

At least one hospital is hoping for the speedy recovery of Jessica Lipnack's acquaintance in a New York hospital.  The rest of us concerned dedicating ourselves to improving patient experience in the U.S. health care system are hanging on every word.

In: Mandatory Choice

This has always been baffling:

Even more surprising, nearly 50 percent of the nation's health-care workers also ignore the reminder [to get a flu shot]. (Chicago Tribune)

As providers weigh the risks of impending H1N1 doom this flu season there are plenty of strategies in place to improve that number...including the dreaded M word: mandatory.  Or, reframed as choice: take the shot(s) or wear a mask.

This week in the health reform debate

Neat. Motivequest will examine weekly the health care debate highlighting trending topics and important stuff.

End of life care sensibility

Newsweek:

Until Americans learn to contemplate death as more than a scientific challenge to be overcome, our health-care system will remain unfixable.

Continue to wash your hands

Some good news re: H1N1 lately: U.S., Australian Researchers Say Single H1N1 Vaccine Dose Protects Adults Against Virus Earlier Release Date Planned for H1N1 Vaccine The below are intended to provide some Monday morning enjoyment. Fast Company: New York Times via MSNBC: Remember: the most effective way to stop the spread of flu until a vaccine is ready is to wash your hands...often.

In: Accountability

I was ready to make a health care comparison using a line from a New York Times article about the failures of higher education,  instead of:

But it won’t solve the system’s biggest problems — the focus on enrollment rather than completion, the fact that colleges are not held to account for their failures.

It could read:

But it won’t solve the system’s biggest problems — the focus on procedures rather than value, the fact that health care is not held to account for their failures.

But then the article did all the work for me:

There is a real parallel here to health care. We pay doctors and hospitals for more care instead of better care, and what do we get? More care, even if in many cases it doesn’t make us healthier.

The era of accountability has just started to shine its light...

These meetings go on forever...

Health care needs this, pronto.  PSFK:

London based Industrial design studio ico created this table that helps office workers keep an eye on the length of their meetings. A twist of a dial sets the length of the meeting at the start and then ten illuminated panels appear on the surface of the table, each panel representing a tenth of the meeting time. As the time passes, panels are switched off and a sound is played.