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Executive Leadership Series

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Archive for November, 2011

Over The River and … To the ER We Go?

Wednesday, November 30th, 2011

Remove barriers to health care to influence behavior positively
By George Martin, MD – Senior Medical Director for Health Integrated

Generally, the response to health care issues is that the system is broken. Out-of-control costs are often cited as the issue and short term solutions typically are proposed. Previously, we discussed end of life issues. Now, here is the other extreme. More than 50% of all children born in the United States are eligible for government assistance to meet their health care needs. Medicaid is the largest of the programs. It also includes programs for “Healthy Children” and for those with specific disabilities. (more…)

Cradle to Grave Care: The Holy Grail of Care Coordination.

Thursday, November 17th, 2011

Truly effective Care Coordination should follow us all the days of our lives.
By George Martin, MD – Senior Medical Director for Health Integrated

Care Coordination Summary

Based on the blogs of the past few weeks we have tried to rough out the functions that care coordination must accomplish. To be effective, it must be literally cradle to grave with special emphasis on life’s transitions. And it should be continuous, though not necessarily obvious. (more…)

As a Life Ends, Do We Treat the Patient or the Disease?

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

End of Life Discussions Should Consider More Than the Financial
By George Martin, MD – Senior Medical Director for Health Integrated

 “No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.”

 – Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Address Spring 2005 (more…)