Good news in health care for a change!
No, he didn't hit it big playing blackjack in Middleboro.
Local fella, Donald Berwick, won 100 large today in a BMG-ers dream. Three cheers for “Field organization.”
What can health care learn from politics? Inspired by his son's work on a political campaign, Dr. Donald Berwick, a pediatrician with a master's degree in public policy, decided to find out. In 2004, at the age of 57, Berwick – and his organization, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) – launched a political-style campaign to improve hospital safety and save lives.
Called the 100,000 Lives Campaign, Berwick's goal was to help hospitals reduce unnecessary deaths by encouraging them to implement six specific, scientifically proven improvements in care, including ones aimed at reducing medication errors and infections.
Using political campaign techniques, specially designed “How-to” resources, teleconferences, and an unprecedented field and mentor network to support improvement across the country, IHI and its partners encouraged the widespread adoption of patient safety practices among thousands of clinicians, staff members, and executives.
In just 18 months, 3,100 hospitals joined the effort, and, in comparison to the prior year, demonstrated a reduction of about 120,000 deaths by implementing improvements in care, including the Campaign's interventions.
Now if he can just figure out what's wrong with DiceK.