Steve Berkowitz

Managing Differences of Opinion within the Healthcare Team

Posted on August 30, 2023 by

Steve Berkowitz

Take the Opportunity for Education and Developing Respect I was talking to a hospital Chief Medical Officer (CMO) recently who related the following story: A patient on post-operative day 2 suddenly developed a brief seizure that was witnessed by the attending physician. The physician elected to treat the patient conservatively and the patient did well… Continue Reading >>

Steve Berkowitz

Managing your Quality Dashboard

Posted on September 11, 2017 by

Steve Berkowitz

And “Indicators for Indicators” Now that we are approaching the fall, many of us are looking forward to next year’s budget, strategic plan, and either updating or enhancing the quality dashboard.  Additionally, this time of year, there are new Board members and medical staff officers, some of whom may need to be educated on the… Continue Reading >>

Steve Berkowitz

Reducing complications in medical devices: Four Questions to Consider

Posted on July 10, 2017 by

Steve Berkowitz

Overall, hospitals have done very well in reducing complications related to inserted medical devices such as catheter-associated UTIs (CAUTI’s), central line-associated blood stream infections (CLABSI’s), and ventilator-associated pneumonias (VAP’s).  After all, these are all considered hospital-acquired conditions and have been monitored publicly by CMS as part of the overall pay for performance programs for a… Continue Reading >>

Steve Berkowitz

The Opposite of Hurry up and Wait!

Posted on February 18, 2016 by

Steve Berkowitz

It has long been known that incentives drive behavior. One of the biggest game changers in health care today is the sharp increase in consumer health care deductibles. This has been largely driven by health care costs increasing at a rate higher than can be compensated for by employers. In order to minimize the increase… Continue Reading >>

Steve Berkowitz

The Preventative Power of Immunization

Posted on December 1, 2015 by

Steve Berkowitz

Over a year ago, during the height of the Ebola scare, I blogged that the “bugs are still winning”. We made it through that one, and learned a great deal to make our hospitals safer in the process, but today I stand even stronger with what I said back then. The bugs are still winning… Continue Reading >>

Steve Berkowitz

Protect that Pump! A new appreciation of Cardiac Health

Posted on September 22, 2015 by

Steve Berkowitz

Last week I returned from a very insightful and stimulating Board meeting of the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care. One of the things that I most love about this meeting of very accomplished physicians and health care leaders is that I always come away with some terrific insight that I never would have otherwise anticipated…. Continue Reading >>

Steve Berkowitz

When Preventative Medicine Doesn’t Prevent

Posted on June 15, 2015 by

Steve Berkowitz

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” I remember hearing that many times as a child. I also remember the old oil filter commercials “pay me now or pay me later”. Prevention by definition seems to be a good thing to do. CMS and the social media have caught on. Preventive services… Continue Reading >>

Steve Berkowitz

Ensuring Competent Physicians- Three Critical Questions in the Medical Education Process

Posted on March 30, 2015 by

Steve Berkowitz

I was talking with a colleague of mine who is studying diligently for her Family Practice Recertification Boards. She has always passed them with flying colors every seven years, and was showing me some of the practice questions she now had to answer for this exam. One in particular was a very esoteric question about… Continue Reading >>