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ICSI Health Care Blog

May 4, 2012

Aging is a state of mind, or mindfulness?

It’s likely not news to anyone, but the world around us is changing at an ever-increasing rate of speed. For one such as myself, who is approaching the December of my career, and hopefully not of my journey on this planet, it’s occasionally daunting to contemplate what lies in front of me.

April 20, 2012

Daydreaming— Exercise at it’s best?

Often times during the day, unfortunately sometimes while I’m supposed to be focusing on a specific task, I find my thoughts wondering to other things—isn’t that hawk circling in the sky outside my window fascinating, what is it like to soar so freely through the air, I wonder if I could ever write a book, what might it mean if the Mona Lisa actually was the great painting everyone thinks it was, what should I wear to the Twins baseball game tonight (outside of black to mourn their play). Perhaps you’ve done the same, although with different topics, only to be abruptly pulled back into the present.

April 3, 2012

Darn that Doorway! It’s Easy to Forget

We’ve all experienced it. Or at least I have, and I was beginning to think it was my advancing age, declining memory, and increasing forgetfulness. You’re sitting in a room, working on a particular project, when you realize there’s something you need to get from another room. Quickly, you rush to the next room to ….. and then it hits you, you’ve forgotten why you came into the room.

March 12, 2012

Holding on to the past…or a finger in the dike?

The world of health care today is much different than the one I became involved in as a physician over 35 years ago. But why should that surprise me? The world in general is so dramatically changed from that which I knew then, it would seem reasonable and totally understandable that we’ve had to make dramatic changes in how we work with the population in maintaining health. Or have we? For it seems to me that in many cases the volume-based, paternalistic, top down, cottage industry approach which served us generations ago still has a strong presence, at least intellectually and emotionally, in many in the medical profession.

January 17, 2012

Groupthink or Collaborative Genius? Leave me alone!!

Most of my life has been centered around the concept of the individual genius, using a unique skill and set of talents to create a piece of art, a great round of golf, a unique new device—you name it, I was inspired by the creativity and genius exhibited by such unique people.

December 12, 2011

Patient Engagement—Is Fair Process Needed?

Nothing about me, without me.” Perhaps not exactly presented as promoted by Dr. Donald Berwick, previously at CMS (sadly not true for the future, but that’s another story). It was a mantra used by him in his ongoing crusade to advance the patient-centered concept into our health care system. His energy in promoting the needed transformation from the provider-centered world we presently inhabit to one focused on the patient has been unabated.

November 22, 2011

It’s just common sense, and that’s a problem

Often times when frustrated with politicians, bureaucrats, or anyone involved in trying to solve a difficult problem, we see a reference to “common sense” or the lack thereof. “Why don’t they just use common sense?” “If only they had a modicum of common sense!” “Whatever happened to good old common sense?” Indeed, whatever did happen to common sense> Nothing, and that’s precisely the problem.

November 1, 2011

Close the Door–I’m in a hurry

Admit it, we’ve all done it. I certainly have, and I suspect most of you take the time or have the interest to read my blogs are guilty of the same action. Frequently, as I rush into an elevator, whether to get to my office or an “important” meeting, I push the destination floor button, and then patiently wait for the door to close.

September 6, 2011

Gary Oftedahl: Making RARE personal–another “common(s)” conundrum

In my last blog, I began to link some of the thinking from the area of socio-economics with regard to resource utilization (the "commons dilemma") to our evolving work in addressing hospital readmissions in Minnesota ( http://www.rarereadmissions.org/ ). While the connection is perhaps tenuous, it has created an interesting dialogue, and one that seems worth pursuing. But as is often the case with my musings, it raises another specter that will challenge us as we move this forward.

August 15, 2011

Gary Oftedahl: Addressing the Commons Dilemma– a RARE Opportunity

It all began with a local issue in a distant time, with a pasture, a group of herders, and a limited place in which to graze livestock. It now has become a major concept highlighted in many arenas, which may help us better understand how to transform health care. But it also may be a distraction if not considered in the proper context.