The New York Times Science Bestseller from Robert Wachter, Modern Healthcare's #1 Most Influential Physician-Executive in the US While modern medicine produces miracles, it also delivers care that is too often unsafe, unreliable, unsatisfying, and impossibly expensive. For the past few decades, technology has been touted as the cure for all of healthcare's ills. But medicine stubbornly resisted computerization - until now. Over the past five years, thanks largely to billions of dollars in federal incentives, healthcare has finally gone digital. Yet once clinicians started using computers to actually deliver care, it dawned on them that something was deeply wrong. Why were doctors no longer making eye contact with their patients? How could one of America's leading hospitals give a teenager a 39-fold overdose of a common antibiotic, despite a state-of-the-art computerized prescribing system? How could a recruiting ad for physicians tout the absence of an electronic medical record as a major selling point? Logically enough, we've pinned the problems on clunky software, flawed implementations, absurd regulations, and bad karma. It was all of those things, but it was also something far more complicated. And far more interesting . . . Written with a rare combination of compelling stories and hard-hitting analysis by one of the nation's most thoughtful physicians, The Digital Doctor examines healthcare at the dawn of its computer age. It tackles the hard questions, from how technology is changing care at the bedside to whether government intervention has been useful or destructive. And it does so with clarity, insight, humor, and compassion. Ultimately, it is a hopeful story. "We need to recognize that computers in healthcare don't simply replace my doctor's scrawl with Helvetica 12," writes the author Dr. Robert Wachter. "Instead, they transform the work, the people who do it, and their relationships with each other and with patients. . . . Sure, we should have thought of this sooner. But it's not too late to get it right." This riveting book offers the prescription for getting it right, making it essential reading for everyone - patient and provider alike - who cares about our healthcare system.

The New York Times Science Bestseller from Robert Wachter, Modern Healthcare's #1 Most Influential Physician-Executive in the US While modern medicine produces miracles, it also delivers care that is too often unsafe, unreliable, unsatisfying, and impossibly expensive. For the past few decades, technology has been touted as the cure for all of healthcare's ills. But medicine stubbornly resisted computerization - until now. Over the past five years, thanks largely to billions of dollars in federal incentives, healthcare has finally gone digital. Yet once clinicians started using computers to actually deliver care, it dawned on them that something was deeply wrong. Why were doctors no longer making eye contact with their patients? How could one of America's leading hospitals give a teenager a 39-fold overdose of a common antibiotic, despite a state-of-the-art computerized prescribing system? How could a recruiting ad for physicians tout the absence of an electronic medical record as a major selling point? Logically enough, we've pinned the problems on clunky software, flawed implementations, absurd regulations, and bad karma. It was all of those things, but it was also something far more complicated. And far more interesting . . . Written with a rare combination of compelling stories and hard-hitting analysis by one of the nation's most thoughtful physicians, The Digital Doctor examines healthcare at the dawn of its computer age. It tackles the hard questions, from how technology is changing care at the bedside to whether government intervention has been useful or destructive. And it does so with clarity, insight, humor, and compassion. Ultimately, it is a hopeful story. "We need to recognize that computers in healthcare don't simply replace my doctor's scrawl with Helvetica 12," writes the author Dr. Robert Wachter. "Instead, they transform the work, the people who do it, and their relationships with each other and with patients. . . . Sure, we should have thought of this sooner. But it's not too late to get it right." This riveting book offers the prescription for getting it right, making it essential reading for everyone - patient and provider alike - who cares about our healthcare system.

Now revised and updated-the landmark patient safety primer written by the world's leading authorities Medical errors are the unfortunate byproduct of an increasingly complex healthcare system. Now more than ever, keeping patients safe takes well-trained caregivers, relevant insights from a range of industries, additional investment-and a groundbreaking text like Understanding Patient Safety. Understanding Patient Safety is "must read" for those seeking to master the clinical, organizational, and systems issues of patient safety. In this bestselling primer, patient safety pioneer Robert Wachter and Kiran Gupta put all the essential tools and principles at your fingertips. Engaging and accessible, the book is filled with high-yield cases, analyses, tables, graphics, along with key points and references-all designed to help you optimize quality and safety. Understanding Patient Safety begins with an introduction to patient safety and medical errors. Its second section surveys specific types of medical errors, including those related to surgery, medications, diagnosis, transition and handoff, and infections. The third section covers proven solutions, from establishing reporting systems, to creating a culture of safety. The third edition reflects pivotal new developments in the field, including major updates in diagnostic errors, information technology and patient safety, ambulatory safety, and clinician burnout. Features: *Coverage of human factors and errors at the person-machine interface *Review of workplace issues, including supporting caregivers after major errors *How to organize an effective safety program *Coordination of patient education and training *Overview of the malpractice system *Discussion of the patient's role

Establishing, Managing and Protecting Your Online Reputation: A Social Media Guide for Physicians and Medical Practices The availability of online health information combined with social media channels like Twitter and Facebook has created a new generation of patients. They are empowered. They have a voice in their own care that they never had before. And they're not afraid to use it. Bottom line: If doctors don't take steps to define themselves, patients will. Maybe you're not a big social media user - but your patients are. And they rely on social media sources when they're finding a doctor or a medical practice. In fact, a recent study concluded that, as of 2012, 80% of new patients and 60% of prospective new patients consulted physician review sites in making their decision. Given these stakes, you can't afford to leave your online reputation to chance. Kick off your social media efforts today with Establishing, Managing and Protecting Your Online Reputation: A Social Media Guide for Physicians and Medical Practices, a comprehensive guide to physicians and social media not available anywhere else. In addition to unique insights from a practicing physician, social media pioneer and author Dr. Kevin Pho, (KevinMD) this book offers doctors a step-by step guide on how they can brand themselves on all of the major social media networks. It also provides insider tips on how to respond to online ratings and a guide on how to work with all of the major reviews sites. Don't let social media chatter define you. Take control of your online reputation now - or someone else will From the Foreword, Robert Wachter, MD, says, ." . . whether we like it or not, our online reputation is becoming the main prism through which we will be known - to colleagues, to friends, to patients, to prospective employers. . . . With this realization comes the recognition that we can no longer afford to be passive observers of our online persona."