The VHA Annual Clinical Meeting 2012

I have been totally immersed in the VHA Annual Clinical Meeting in Miami FL for the past two days. It is one of the most stimulating meetings of the past year. Peter Pronovost did an outstanding job connecting DO NO HARM to the real work of reducing catheter associated infections. He got raucous applause. My panel comments focused on the book WHERE GOOD IDEAS COME FROM by Steven Johnson. I told the audience that our School of Population Health was all about "adjacent timing"---the notion that good ideas really do take a long time to come to fruition. We were ready to go to create our school because of 17 years of previous hard work in health policy!! Steven Johnson himself was stimulating and provocative claiming there really is no eureka moment. Other faculty pointed out how far we still have to go to get the kind of cultural change necessary to improve the quality and safety of care.The final speaker, Tom Goetz, is focusing on his book about prevention and wellness----he believes, as do I, that the patient is the source of control. Tom is the EDITOR of WIRED and he knows at a visceral level what he is talking about as a real leader of on line learning. The VHA is a national leader for improvement and I am confident that they will continue to make great headway in changing how we practice to reduce error and improve outcomes and lower costs, all at the same time. HATS off to the VHA for a job well done. I look forward to learning more about their newly funded Hospital Engagement Network, or HEN---one of 26 CMS funded national networks for improvement. Finally, all the attendees got a copy of my book DEMAND BETTER and I signed copies until my hand hurt. A great policy day all around!! DAVID NASH

DEMAND BETTER

Dr Sanjay Kumar and I are very pleased to announce that our brand new book, entitled DEMAND BETTER,is now available. DEMAND BETTER is the result of nearly two years of planning and writing....it comes at a time when the nation needs real leadership for real health reform. We carefully lay out the key "myths" surrounding healthcare in our country and then we debunk them with the evidence. The book covers all the important topics such as unexplained clinical variation, the lack of an evidentiary basis to much of medicine, and it lays out specific tools for reform. It is provocative, engaging and altogether a great read. It should appeal to everyone in the nation who cares about improving health at a price that we all can afford. You can order the book right now at SecondRiverHEalthcare.com or call 406-586-8775.We are anxious to hear your feedback as well so do be in touch!! DEMAND BETTER, something everyone ought to be doing regarding our current dysfunctional healthcare system...........DAVID NASH