David Burda

Yes, Some Good Patient Safety News

By David R. Burda – Better check the byline on this blog post. It’s about patient safety improving at hospitals. Yes, I’m the author. I also try not to be a hypocrite. If I write about patient safety dropping hospitals, like I did in this monthly column, “Dead Patient Walking,” then I feel compelled to write about it when it gets better…

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US Healthcare Continues to Be Risk Averse

By David Burda – As you know, I’m more of a glass-half-empty, bad-news kind of guy, not a glass-half-full, good-news kind of guy. Especially when our health outcomes in the U.S. continue to fall below health outcomes in other high-income nations despite more providers having VBR contracts with commercial insurers. Big deal.



Talent Tuesday: Healthcare’s ‘Good Resignation’

By David Burda – Healthcare is a lot like those people you know. No matter what negative economic trend befalls all industries across the board, healthcare always had it worse. Just ask any administrator, doctor or nurse. An example is the Great Resignation fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic.




Putting a Price Tag on Healthcare Middlemen

By David Burda – Healthcare middlemen like group purchasing organizations, distributors and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) add costs to our already bloated healthcare system, not subtract costs through savings like they claim. If you don’t believe me, read this short but telling research letter in JAMA Health Forum.


Burda on Healthcare: Calling a Physician Burnout Timeout

By David Burda – I have no doubt that a lot of physicians are burned out. So are a lot of nurses, teachers, journalists, IT people, assembly line workers, truck drivers, rideshare drivers, restaurant servers, fast food workers and pretty much anyone else who’s been asked by their bosses to “do more with less” or “work smarter not harder” as they adapt to the post-pandemic economy.


Medicare Advantage Bait and Switch

By David Burda – I have one quid pro quo in my life: I won’t tell you what to do if you don’t tell me what to do. The only exception is anything really stupid that could kill me or you or both of us at the same time. That’s why, 19 months from now, when I turn 65, I’m going to sign up for traditional Medicare.