Schwimmer Script Blog
Sharing Savings and Lessons Learned By Leader in Medicare ACOs
The patient’s daughter called toward the end of office hours, fearing her mother, a diabetic, had experienced a stroke. The nurse practitioner — who had established a relationship with the patient — listened carefully to the symptoms and asked very specific questions before determining the elderly patient probably did not have a stroke but should…Read More…
Seeing Health Care Policy Turn Into Practice
At the Quality Institute, I work to encourage change that makes health care safer, more accessible and more coordinated. Often the changes in policy I explore do not affect the real-world practice of medicine until years later. So I am always excited when I see real investments in health care policy and infrastructure play out…Read More…
When Spending Health Care Dollars, “Choosing Wisely” Is Best Course
The cost of health insurance is rising. Again. High premiums, co-pays and cost sharing are hurting businesses and their employees. Insurers are pulling out of the ACA health insurance market in New Jersey and around the nation. U.S. health care spending, meanwhile, has reached $3.0 trillion, taking money away from housing, education, social services and…Read More…
A Story of Empathy and Kindness at the End of a Life
Think medical success stories and you may envision life-saving heroics in a trauma center. Or a brilliant diagnosis of a patient’s rare illness. Or maybe a laboratory researcher who finds a new cancer treatment. All valid successes. But recently I was reminded that success in health care can take more modest forms. Last week the…Read More…
Keeping Competition in the ACA Marketplace
Oscar Health Insurance just announced plans to withdraw from the Affordable Care Act marketplace in New Jersey next year. The company joins UnitedHealthcare, also exiting the marketplace in 2017. Aetna, meanwhile, has scrapped plans to provide coverage here next year. Are the exits a sign the ACA is failing? And what can we do to…Read More…
As Other States Explore Medicaid Innovations, What Can New Jersey Learn?
In New Jersey, Medicaid covers one in five residents and accounts for about 20 percent of the state’s budget. We know our state needs to explore innovations to contain costs while also improving care for beneficiaries. At the Quality Institute, our Medicaid 2.0 initiative, with support from The Nicholson Foundation, is working to create a…Read More…
Time to Stop the Surprises
When an issue slips off the front pages and legislation drops off the radar, people may think the problem has been solved. Not so with surprise medical bills from out-of-network providers. If you’ve gotten one of these surprise bills, you know. At the Quality Institute, we have not stopped advocating for a solution while hearing…Read More…
Don’t Let Turf Battles Destroy The Potential of Telemedicine
The other day I was clicking around a new health website by a company called Lemonaid Health. The site allows consumers to connect remotely with a health care provider for very specific reasons, such as obtaining birth control or treating seven ailments, including urinary tract infections, sinus infections, flu and acid reflux. The fee is…Read More…
Success of Payment Reform Hinges on Population Health
The federal government is pushing the health care system, and physicians in particular, to move to an outcome-based payment system, but they can’t succeed alone. Real success will hinge upon how quickly our country can embrace and support Population Health. We must realize that the dollars we spend today on prevention, nutrition, early childhood development…Read More…
Quality Institute’s Wellness Director Goes Global
As Dave Knowlton and I were transitioning the leadership of the Quality Institute, he wisely wanted me to build my own team. One of my first hires was Janan Dave, who I brought to the Institute to lead our Mayors Wellness Campaign. She has been with the Quality Institute for two years now and under…Read More…