Quoteworthy
It is my hope that my employees see my passion and connection, and they know I want that for them too. Life is too short to miss that connection at work.
Melissa Horn

Most Recent
The Bobcast with Dr. Brigitte Smith

In this podcast, Utah’s Chief Medical Quality Officer interviews Brigitte Smith. A vascular surgeon who joined the University of Utah in 2015, Dr. Smith has quickly become a thought leader in transforming training for future physicians in value (both medical school and residency programs). Their conversation pinpoints an inconvenient truth—we may be a generation away from a culture of value-driven healthcare.

5 Lessons Healthcare Can Learn From Other Industries

In addition to his day job as Director of ENT Clinics, Kirk Hughs orients all new specialty clinic and endoscopy employees to the Exceptional Patient Experience. His goal is to engage new team members about how they can create exceptional experiences for their patients.

How Utah Chief Value Officers Lead Health Care Transformation

Not even the most gifted leader can lead change alone. No one person can come up with the strategy, communicate across the organization, eliminate all the barriers, and manage dozens of change initiatives. In order for transformation to succeed, you need a guiding coalition.

Why I Do One of the Riskiest Surgeries in Medicine

With so few organs available for transplant, living-donor transplantation introduces improved organ quality, reduced wait times, predictable scheduling, and reduced risk of rejection. But it isn't easy—the investment and risks are huge. Robin Kim, University of Utah Transplant Division Chief, shares his commitment and the complexity of his practice.

Building a Career on Value

Dr. Chris Pelt led one of the first applications of the Value Driven Outcomes (VDO) tool and the University of Utah’s first alternative payment model for joint replacement (the “bundle”). As a junior faculty member he volunteered for the CVO role, and we wondered what drove his early adoption of value. Accelerate's Chrissy Daniels asked him and—in true Pelt fashion—he didn't mince words.

PRACTICING: Drs. Graves and Horton (Episode 1)

Real teams are the antidote to the chaos of modern medicine. “Real teams know each other, feel loyalty to one another, trust one another, and would not want to disappoint one another” (Tom Lee, NEJM Catalyst 2016). Practicing are conversations between real team members about why the work matters. Our goal is to preserve and share the stories of the teams at University of Utah Healthcare.

Lessons From The Frontlines

What makes an expert? Best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell gave 10,000 hours as a threshold for expertise. While our University Hospital Customer Service Team isn’t at 10,000 hours, they addressed nearly 2,000 patient concerns this past year. When asked how they do it, Program Assistant Michael Bown offers these top five tools to successfully navigate a phone complaint.

Ideas From The Brain Trust

Health care is made up of people — creative, passionate people with big ideas who are often too busy to learn from one another.

Stories From the Practice of Health Care

Practicing are recorded conversations with a colleague that are shared with the organization. They are conversations between real team members about why the work matters.