Starting the New Year Right

Happy New Year to all of our readers and to those with a special interest in the impact of Health Reform. Lots of changes are on the way, especially in the next few months, as our leaders grapple with the implications of the ACA. I watched several of the Sunday morning news shows today and gee whiz---I don't think most of our elected leaders "get it". The ACA cannot be repealed....this is just a political smoke screen in my view. The hard work of completing Comparative Effectiveness Research, implementing Accountable Care Organizations, building Patient Centered Medical Homes and all the rest, has barely begun. If we are going to fix what's really broken, it will mean real changes in the daily practice of medicine and a cultural shift in what doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and others, are really all about.

We are going to start 2011 on the right foot as tomorrow will be the Eighth Consecutive Interclerkship Day for Third Year Medical Students at Jefferson Medical College. Our School of Population Health is the host for this special, one day only, event focused on patient safety. A national faculty of experts will descend on our campus, along with our own leaders, to help the nations largest private medical school come to grips with the epidemic of medical errors. JMC is a national leader in UME education for patient safety---due in no small part to the work of the faculty in our new school.

So, I am looking forward to hosting this event, to start the new year right, as we begin educating a new generation of health care providers about their role in improving patient safety and the quality of care. What are doing on the first work day of the new year to move our agenda for safer, higher quality and less costly care forward??? THANKS for your support, DAVID NASH