Transparency is more than a buzzword. It's a movement—among the most transformative movements in health care. Everyone yearns for reliable information about the cost and quality of health care. Consumers need it to inform medical decisions and guide their choice of doctors and health plans. It gives purchasers (employers, insurers and government leaders) assurance that they're getting their money's worth. It's driving doctors and hospitals to deliver more efficient, patient-centered care.
There are certainly risks and benefits to transparency. Doing it well—sharing information that not only accurately captures the complexity of health care, but that is digestible and actionable—takes time, practice and a willingness to confront our fears. Over the past several years, University of Utah Health has worked hard at building a culture of transparency. Here are highlights of lessons learned and victories celebrated.
(January 19, 2017) Examining review site giant Yelp’s entrance into health care, University of Utah Health Care CEO Vivian Lee, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., says transparent, validated data about health care system performance “has the power to change the culture of health care.” The question is, how should information be shared, and by whom.
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(October 17, 2016) During the past decade, University of Utah Health Care has “repeatedly challenged the conventions of medical care and upended the relationships between doctors and patients,” Casey Ross reports. Now CEO Vivian Lee, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., is calling for another revolution: defining value according to terms that matter to patients.
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(October 10, 2016) “There’s something extraordinary going on at the University of Utah Health Care system that’s promising to revolutionize the way medical care is priced and delivered not only here, but throughout the world – and the world is paying attention,” wrote the Deseret News editorial board in recognizing University of Utah Health Care’s top ranking in the nation for quality.
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(Sept. 23, 2016) A low-cost laparoscope invented by surgeon John Langell, M.D., Ph.D., director of the University of Utah’s Center for Medical Innovation, is making surgery accessible and affordable in developing countries as part of a new wave of ultra-low cost medical devices.
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(September 13, 2016) Three clinical improvement projects – total hip and knee joint replacement, hospitalist laboratory utilization, and sepsis management – show how University of Utah’s value driven outcomes tool is helping physicians lower cost and improve the quality of care.
Read Full Article(September 13, 2016) According to Michael Porter, M.D., director of Harvard University’s Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, health care is “finally entering an era of significant change,” and University of Utah Health Care has shown “achieving better quality and lower costs is possible, and everyone can benefit: patients, hospitals, physicians, and society.”
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(August 4, 2016) Can architecture spur creativity? The answer is yes at the University of Utah and other campuses around the nation, according to Alexandra Lange of The New York Times.
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(May 25, 2016) University of Utah pediatrics infectious disease specialist Carrie Byington, M.D., is heading up the United States Olympics Committee’s Infectious Disease Advisory Group, working to keep athletes traveling to Brazil safe from Zika virus and running a study to monitor 100 athletes, coaches, and staff for potential Zika infections.
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(May 2, 2016) Utah holds a unique distinction when it comes to health care: No other state spends less per capita on medical care and few boast healthier populations. The question is, why?
Read Full Article(April 29, 2016) The daughter of immigrants who hadn’t mastered English, Vivian Lee, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A. became CEO of a health care system and developed her own unique “consultative” leadership style along the way.
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(March 29, 2016) University of Utah Health Care CEO Vivian Lee, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., discusses how the health care system’s bold move to post patient-written physician reviews online has improved care and built trust.
Read Full Article(February 17, 2015) Hospitals have been surveying discharged patients for years, but by posting patient-written physician reviews online University of Utah Health Care made it clear that each patient visit was “a high-stakes interaction,” Gina Kolata reports. Patient satisfaction scores soared.
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(Nov. 27, 2015) "Many hospitals admit they can barely keep track of their own operating costs, and those costs get passed on to us. But one hospital in Utah has figured out a way to get a handle on the problem and others are anxious to follow its lead," reports news anchor Lester Holt.
Read Full Article(September 15, 2015) Vivian Lee, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., and Carrie Byington, M.D., M.B.A., examine data showing the potential of women in medicine and science has not been fully realized.
Read Full Article(September 7, 2015) Price is one thing, but what does it actually cost to provide health care? University of Utah Health Care is among a few health systems in the country able to answer those questions, Gina Kolata reports.
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(October 7, 2014) University of Utah Health Care Chief Quality Officer Robert Pendleton provides a recipe for reconciling the oft-competing drivers of volume and value since passage of the Affordable Care Act. The key ingredient: "It's got to be about the patient.
Read Full Article(Oct. 1, 2014) "It is common wisdom that patients don't like to think about cost when it comes to health care. But what if the problem is that they’re so rarely even given that information?" wrote Elisabeth Rosenthal about a University of Utah study which found parents given pricing for different forms of surgery tended to select the cheaper option.
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(July 26, 2014) The University of Utah decided to “turn the trend” of popular but unverifiable patient-written physician ratings as the first of a growing field of health centers to survey its patients and publish their reviews online.
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(June 20, 2014) The University of Utah health system is one of a handful in the nation with a data system that can track cost and quality of care for every one of its patients and share data with care providers to streamline cost and improve care.
Read Full Article(June 3, 2014) Thomas H. Lee, M.D., chief medical officer at the nation’s leading provider of patient surveys, shares his perspective on the University of Utah's pioneering move to publish patient satisfaction scores online, noting the health system was "richly rewarded."
Read Full Article(June 3, 2014) University of Utah Health Care is featured in an article by Thomas H. Lee and Toby Cosgrove discussing how physicians can help propel health care transformation.
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How can the field of medicine eliminate waste when students aren't being trained on the best practices to do so? Dr. Vineet Arora tells us about the Choosing Wisely Challenge: a contest that involves everyone from medical students to department chairs in improving patient care at lower costs. ... Read More
What if you couldn't discipline disruptive physician behavior toward medical students because they technically don't work for you? That's what the University of Arizona Medical School is facing, as they deal with physician mentors not directly employed by the school. Jennifer Allie talks about how they are going about dealing with this challenge without losing their input, and why the students are an integral part of the plan. ... Read More
What if our nation's health industry leaders put their personal agendas aside and came together to collectively fix health care? ... Read More
When you make data public, you make a commitment to hold your organization to a higher standard. That is the message of David Entwistle, CEO of University of Utah Health Care Hospitals and Clinics as he discusses the culture shift that occurred when the decision was made to start posting doctor reviews online, and how it has led to a renewed commitment to quality care. ... Read More
He had ignored the pneumonia-like symptoms for weeks, but awoke Sunday so short of breath he feared having to miss a day of work - his first ever. ... Read More
Transparency is a trending word in health care these days and one that is packed with possibility. Executive Editor of The New England Journal of Medicine Gregory Curfman, M.D., boiled it down to this: providing patients with information and involving them as full partners in decision-making. ... Read More
The global rise of tech companies like Amazon, Apple and Google happened because they paid attention to the hassles consumers faced buying books, renting movies or using their cell phones. ... Read More
What are the three things AHA members should have on their radar that are happening in Washington, D.C.? ... Read More
When Alicie Cole went into the hospital for a routine procedure, she never dreamed she'd end up spending two months there, one of them in the ICU. ... Read More
Former Utah governor tells health care professionals that reform is an economic reality; changes must take place. ... Read More
Spring means tulips and conferences. And joining social media can be a terrific way to interact with other conference-goers or see what's happening at a conference across the country without leaving your desk. It can also be a boost for business, reputation and new way to interact with patients, consumers and peers. But getting started can be a bit daunting. For help launching your Twitter account, download the Twitter 101 for Physicians PDF. You can also view the PDF online. ... Read More
This year, only six health systems in the nation earned the designation "Most Wired Advanced," indicating strong data security, advanced analytics, proven patient safety initiatives, exceptional chronic disease management and overall implementation of IT systems ... Read More
U.S. News & World Report has ranked Intermountain Healthcare’s Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, in seven specialties in the new 2015-16 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings. ... Read More
Division chief and professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School joins the U on March 1, 2016. ... Read More
Charlton Park has been named Chief Analytics Officer (CAO) for University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics, a newly created position. ... Read More
The free online learning platform and associated national training pilot, made possible with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is designed to equip physicians and other professionals on the front lines of health care with processes for improving the value of care that their patients receive. ... Read More
Angela Fagerlin, Ph.D., an internationally known researcher at the University of Michigan, will join the University of Utah as the first permanent chair of the School of Medicine's new Department of Population Health Sciences. ... Read More
"Many hospitals admit they can barely keep track of their own operating costs, and those costs get passed onto us. But one hospital in Utah has figured out a way to get a handle on the problem and others are anxious to follow its lead," ... Read More
A new study in the December issue of Academic Medicine bolsters research linking good patient satisfaction scores with good patient outcomes. It sheds light on another, unspoken benefit by showing how openly sharing patient satisfaction metrics created a culture of empathy, communication, trust and shared decision making between patients and providers at a health system in Utah: University of Utah Health Care (UUHC). ... Read More
Paul Grundy, M.D., M.P.H., was recently named to a key international network of health care ambassadors by Healthcare DENMARK. ... Read More
A. Loris Betz, MD, PhD
Interim University of Utah Senior Vice President for Health Sciences, Dean of the School of Medicine, CEO University of Utah Health
Gordon Crabtree, MBA
Chief Executive Officer (Interim)
Ed Clark, MD
Associate Vice President of Clinical Affairs at the University of Utah, President of University of Utah Medical Group
Robert Pendleton, MD, BSc, FACP
Internal Medicine - Associate Professor of Medicine (Clinical)
Kensaku Kawamoto, MD, PhD, MHS
Biomedical Informatics - Assistant Professor
Chrissy Daniels MS/MPA
Director of Strategic Initiatives, University of Utah Health Care
Thomas L. Miller, MD
Internal Medicine - Associate Professor (Clinical)
Charlton Park
Director of Decision Support at University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics
Sandi Gulbransen
Manager, Value Engineering at University of Utah Health Care
Cheri Hunter
Director of Data Warehouse and Knowledge Management Support
Eric R. Scaife, MD
Chief, Division of Pediatric Surgery
50 North Medical Drive
Salt Lake City, Utah 84132
801-581-2121
