Ed Howe is retired president of Aurora Health Care, which spans eastern third of Wisconsin and includes 13 hospitals, more than 650 physicians practicing at more than 100 clinics, 120 community pharmacies and 13 Aurora Quick Care sites. Aurora also is Wisconsin's largest home care provider through the Aurora Visiting Nurse Association, and a leading agent for social change through Aurora Family Service. Ed blogs regularly at ActionForBetterHealthcare.com.
Ed Howe
From the vantage point of having run a large U.S. healthcare system, I can see that certain strategic changes are needed in order to make President Obama’s healthcare reform goals a reality.
People who know my healthcare experience often ask me about finding a new primary care physician. Here are my rules of thumb.
The “oughts” are finally behind us. I don’t think we will miss them that much. But now is the time for a fresh attitude when it comes to healthcare.
While Washington is still hammering out the details to potentially expand Medicare coverage to individuals as young as 55, it is important to explain why I feel this is not a good idea.
This morning I read a shocking headline: “A new survey shows that half of hospital boards don’t rate quality as a top priority.”
If you have wondered about the quality of care at U.S. hospitals and how we might be able to make improvements when it comes to saving lives and saving money, here is your answer.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) released a draft chairman’s mark on healthcare reform that would cost $856 billion over 10 years. There are two main points which must be addressed within the legislation in order for accountable care organizations to work.
A letter I wrote this week, published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, argued for the continued existence of hospital buying cooperatives, sometimes called group purchasing organizations.
All of the special interest groups around healthcare have more or less tolerated each other over the past 50 years. Why? The healthcare pie has steadily grown over that time to almost 20 percent of our gross national product.
Healthcare reform is the talk of the town these days. Key to reforming our healthcare system is to reduce waste and eliminate excess cost.