Quoteworthy
We’re learning that telemedicine can help us come together not just as a community, but also as a nation and a global force in the face of COVID-19.
Maia Hightower, Christin Van Dine, Eileen Prats

Most Recent
Are Emotions Driving Health Care Cost?

Much of the national dialogue about health care costs focuses on payment reform and the power of market forces. Researchers compared the price-sensitivity of decisions between health care and pet care. The big idea—don’t lose sight of emotions when tackling the problem of health care costs.

Unraveling Payment: Voluntary vs. Mandatory Bundles

We asked Zac Watne, Utah’s payment innovation manager (he gets paid to understand the volatile world of payment reform) to give us a primer on “bundles.” Regardless of change happening in health care, thought leaders predict that payment reform, and specifically, bundled payments, are here to stay. Why? Bundles deliver care with improved outcomes at a lower price all over the United States. In this post, Zac outlines the difference between voluntary and mandatory bundles.

Why We Cover Health Care Payment Reform

Why dedicate space to the hot poker that is health law and policy on this website? Context. We are an improvement community. We believe providing context is an act of respect. Talking about "the why" of complex healthcare topics (payment reform included) allows our frontline clinicians and staff to be empowered and informed.

Greg Bell on How Payment Reform May Impact Utah

Former Lieutenant Governor Greg Bell on how congressional inaction could limit hospitals and doctors’ ability to provide healthcare in Utah (Photo credit: KUER, Utah Governor's Office).

Why Don’t We Teach the Eighth Waste?

The 8th waste is underutilization of employee talent. In this week's post of Steve's Dojo (or continuing Lean Six Sigma education), Steve revisits Taiichi Ohno’s "7 wastes" and answers why he doesn't teach the "8th waste" at University of Utah.

The Healthcare Value-Added Test

What if you could redesign healthcare from the ground up? If you were to start with the healthcare value-added test applied to each decision, what would healthcare delivery look, sound, and feel like? Would you be able to shake off the preconceived notions of what it takes to run a healthcare system? Would hospitals be recognizable? In this week's post of Steve's Dojo (or continuing Lean Six Sigma education), we revisit the healthcare value-added test.

Steve's Dojo: Continuing Lean Six Sigma Education

Complete archive of the lean six sigma training series: Steve's Dojo.

Lean Behind the Scenes: Nutrition Care Services

Follow Utah’s Nutrition Care Services as they produce and deliver over 300 lunches to inpatients all over our hospital, all at the same time. The work of this exceptional team highlights a complex lean operation that—before now—has largely gone unseen.

In "The Weeds" with Sylvia Burwell

1 in 3 healthcare dollars is paid for by the United States Health and Human Services, making them the largest payer in the United States. Chrissy Daniels shares this podcast that explains why HHS is changing and how Utah is keeping up.

Tom Lee Exclusive

Chief Medical Officer of Press Ganey Tom Lee reminds us that value does not happen by accident, and good intentions are not enough. The goal of improving value has to be a major focus for everyone in an organization.

What the Hard Work of Bundled Care Really Looks Like

It’s clear that fee-for-service health care isn't working—so what alternative payment model does?

Curating Value: Archiving Utah's Exceptional Improvement Work

For years, the Exceptional Value Annual Report documented the performance of the organization on all 45 of the key initiatives identified in the Operational Plan.