| R. Lewis Dark:
Mass General Hospital Raises Bar on Transparency
WHENEVER I VISIT the corporate offices of THE DARK REPORT in Austin, Texas, I am invariably treated to a Texas barbeque dinner and one of the delicacies on the platter is sausage that has been smoked and slathered in sauce. Like many of you, I enjoy sausage, but I don’t ever want to watch how sausage is made.
We all know how that concept applies in healthcare. Most patients shouldn’t
see how their healthcare is “made.” And it has been the practice of hospitals and physicians not to make public their flaws and warts, as uncovered by accrediting agencies such as The Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO–Joint Commission
on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.)
But that is changing. I am going to tell you about a refreshing and candid
public analysis of a recent Joint Commission inspection of the
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston! And it comes, warts
and all, from MGH President Peter L. Slavin, M.D. In a letter to the public
(at www.massgeneral.org/message_april07.html), Slavin says a commission
survey team spent five days at MGH in December and found 10 areas of concern
(called RFIs—Requirements For Improvement). “We were not happy
with 10; in fact, we would not have been satisfied with seven or five or two
RFIs,” Slavin wrote. “Our goal is zero. This week, we sent to the Joint
Commission our action plan for addressing each of these RFIs, and we will
closely monitor these areas to ensure we are not only improving and achieving
compliance, but also excelling.”
In a list accompanying the letter, the hospital details the areas needing
improvement and the corresponding steps MGH is taking. By making the
commission’s findings and its response public, MGH is raising the bar for
hospitals nationwide. MGH recognizes that transparency in hospital quality,
infection control, and pricing are growing national trends. But when a major
healthcare institution—and a proud one at that—is willing to show its flawss
to the public and admit areas that need improvement, then we have indeed
entered a new era in public transparency.
I applaud Slavin for stepping forward and openly reporting on MGH’s
RFIs. This development represents what I hope will be a trend: more accountability
among hospitals nationwide as they publish their accreditation results
and tell the public what they’re doing to make improvements.
LabCorp & Sunrise CEOs
Score at Exec War College
Competing CEOs deliver compelling messages
to a record crowd at biggest-ever War College
CEO SUMMARY: This year's Executive War College on Lab
and Pathology Management delivered major surprises, along
with first news of breakthrough innovations and emerging
trends. Managed care contracting for lab testing services was
this year's premier topic and there was keen interest in the
remarks on this subject by LabCorp’s new CEO, David King.
Another well-received presentation was that of Larry Siedlick,
CEO of Sunrise Medical Laboratories.
LAB BRIEFS >>
BECKMAN COULTER
HOPES TO COMPLETE
ACQUISITION OF BIOSITE
WILL HEALTHY ADULTS
WANT TO BE SCREENED
USING GENETIC TESTS?
MEDTOX SCIENTIFIC
REPORTS STRONG GROWTH
FOR FIRST QUARTER
Global Lab News>> Quest Diagnostics Regains Contract To Manage British Hospital Lab
Newsmaker Interview: Emerging Global Trends in How Labs
Are Using “Distributed Computing”
Spectrum Health and Van Andel Institute
tap Daniel H. Farkas, Ph.D. to lead effort
CEO SUMMARY: In concluding this two-part interview, Technidata
America's Executive Vice President and General Manager, Jacques Baudin
discusses how improvements in information technology (IT) can help clinical
laboratories improve their internal operations while also supporting
tighter IT integration within the hospital or health system. He describes
how labs are using middleware to provide capabilities that extend the useful
life of legacy laboratory information systems (LIS). Outside of the
United States, in locations as diverse as Singapore and Bordeaux, France,
Technidata is participating in the creation of regional LIS centers,
designed to serve multiple laboratories from a single LIS data center. (PART 2 OF 2)
ACLA Prepares to Tackle
Tough Lab Industry Issues
New initiative designed to educate Congress,
health officials, and public about value of lab tests
CEO SUMMARY: At its annual meeting last month, the
American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) rolled out a new
campaign to educate Congress, government and private payers,
and the American public about the value of laboratory testing.
Called “Results for Life,” the campaign is a well funded and ambitious
effort to carve out a place at the table for laboratory testing.
A growing number of lab industry players are joining the effort.
INTELLIGENCE: Late & Latent
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