Cincinnati Children's Blog
  • Y&H Podcast
  • Newsletter Subscribe
  • CincinnatiChildrens.org
  • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Healthy Living
  • Rare and Complex Conditions
  • Safety and Prevention
  • Heart Conditions
  • Learning and Growing
  • Research and Discoveries
  • Blog
  • Healthy Living
  • Rare and Complex Conditions
  • Safety and Prevention
  • Heart Conditions
  • Learning and Growing
  • Research and Discoveries
  • Y&H Podcast
  • Newsletter Subscribe
  • CincinnatiChildrens.org
  • Contact Us
HOME/Health Care Public Policy/Health care improvement needs more doctors

Health care improvement needs more doctors

 

August 4, 2010
Thomas McCormally
0 Comments

The headline here seems to make intrinsic sense. After all, health care is a doctor’s world and therefore doctors would be heavily involved in the process to make it better, safer and more efficient.

Right?

Not always, says Patrick Conway, MD, MSc, the Director of Hospital Medicine at

Patrick Conway, MD, MSc

Cincinnati Children’s. Dr. Conway just finished a stint as a White House fellow and time as the Chief Medical Officer in the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. On Tuesday, he gave Grand Rounds at CCHMC and encouraged those health professionals in the audience to get involved.

“You won’t get paid much and you’ll work really hard,” he said. “But we need it. There aren’t enough doctors involved (in policy making)” Dr. Conway said.

During his time in Washington — a time when the health care reform bill worked its way through Congress and the economic recovery act funneled billions of dollars into new programs — Dr. Conway worked as the head of the Comparative Effectiveness Research Council. Among other things, the group helped distribute funding for projects designed to “change the outcome” of patients through evidenced-based medicine in the entire spectrum of care. He often found himself fighting for kids.

“You don’t always have to have a pediatrician in the room, but it helps,” he said.

One of the major goals of comparative effectiveness research (now known as Patient-Centered Outcomes Research) is to disseminate the information from the researcher to the front-line physicians who can apply it. Dr. Conway cited a commentary he co-authored in the Journal of the American Medical Association  that suggests the “systematic failure” of translating research into improved patient care. “The United States will continue to fail to fully leverage new clinical discoveries into improved health outcomes unless there is an accelerated transformation of the health care system,” he wrote.

Cincinnati Children’s has invested heavily in improving our health care delivery system. We have seen how having the right person in the right place at the right time improves the efficiency of our operating rooms. We have shown how improving quality (i.e. reducing infections) can reduce costs. We have built computer networks that facilitate information sharing leading to improved care for patients all across the country. We tested medications side-by-side to see which one is best for treating conditions.

It’s about gathering information to make the best possible decisions. It’s about measuring everything you do so you can tell if you’re getting better. Dr. Conway says the folks in D.C. need to decide what research is funded, and what goes wanting. They need to know which groups of patients should be given priority.

They need doctors and other health care providers to guide them.

We’ll be there.

Related Articles

 

Warm Weather Guide to Water Safety
 

Summer Eye Safety and Care for Kids 
 

Whippits, Huffing and Nitrous Gas: What Kids Are Inhaling for a High
 

Need a Sports Physical? See Your Pediatrician
TAGS:

About the author: Thomas McCormally

Write A Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

No Comments Yet

Topics

  • Cancer and Blood Diseases
  • Child Development and Behavior
  • Childhood Obesity
  • Chronic Care Networks
  • Cincinnati Walks for Kids
  • Featured Faces
  • Fetal Conditions
  • Fitness and Nutrition
  • Food Allergies
  • Ghana 2012
  • Health Care Public Policy
  • Health Care Quality
  • Health Care Reform
  • Healthy Living
  • Heart Conditions
  • Hospital Operations
  • Learning and Growing
  • Nurses Week 2012
  • Patient Family Experience
  • Patient Flow
  • Patient Safety
  • Pin of the Week
  • Rare and Complex Conditions
  • Research and Discoveries
  • Safety and Prevention
  • Share Your Story
  • Technology
  • The Young & Healthy Podcast
  • Uncategorized
  • Vaccines
  • Volunteerism
  • What's New
See All Topics
See Less Topics

Subscribe

Subscribe today to our family newsletter for tips, blog posts, podcasts and more.

Subscribe Now

Popular Posts

  • 6 Questions to Ask When Your Child Complains of Chest Pain 875 views

  • Lean, Purple Drank, Sizzurp: A Dangerous Teenage Drink 705 views

  • Stuttering In Young Kids: When To Be Concerned 613 views

  • Should I Worry If My Child’s Chest Is Sunken? 277 views

  • Tips for Helping Babies Transition to Cow’s Milk 270 views

  • How To Increase Calories In Your Underweight Child’s Diet 269 views

About

The Cincinnati Children’s blog features thoughts and perspectives from our experts on all things pediatric health. This blog does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Learn More »

Contact Us
  • 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229-3026
  • 1-513-636-4200 | 1-800-344-2462
  • TTY: 1-513-636-4900
  • socialmedia@cchmc.org
Connect With Us
  • Newsletter Subscribe
  • CincinnatiChildrens.org
  • Contact Us

© 2009-2025 Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center