Monthly Archive for July, 2011

The Board of Trustees affects your life as a member and an employee

By Scott Armstrong

A message from Group Health President and CEO Scott Armstrong to members and staff:

In the last few years, Group Health has gotten a lot of attention for our cooperative roots. While some of that attention was misinformed by heated political debates, market research reveals that our consumer-governed structure gives us great credibility and differentiates us from our competitors. A growing number of people think co-ops are “cool.”  Continue reading ‘The Board of Trustees affects your life as a member and an employee’

Published on July 29, 2011 in Health Care Reform. 0 Comments

Lean principles and the medical home

By inourview

You may be interested in checking out a recent podcast with Group Health’s Claire Trescott, MD, Primary Care Medical Director, and Alicia Eng, Vice President of Primary Care, talking about our use of Lean principles in the design and management of our “Medical Home” approach to primary care and wellness.

This podcast was produced in conjunction with the Healthcare Value Network as a continuation of their previous podcast series.

 

Published on July 22, 2011 in Health Care Innovations. 0 Comments

Of mystery shoppers, country doctors, and a meeting with Bill Clinton

By Eric Larson, MD, MPH

Last month, the federal government disclosed—then quickly abandoned—a plan to unleash “mystery shoppers”on 4,000 primary care practices across the United States. The goal? To see just how many providers refuse to take new Medicare and Medicaid patients.  Continue reading ‘Of mystery shoppers, country doctors, and a meeting with Bill Clinton’

Published on July 14, 2011 in Health Care Reform. 1 Comment

Dr. Reid represents Group Health at Bill Clinton job summit

By Eric Larson, MD, MPH

 Rob Reid, MD, PhD, Group Health associate medical director for research and knowledge translation, represented Group Health at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) America meeting on U.S. economic recovery and job growth in Chicago June 29-30.  Continue reading ‘Dr. Reid represents Group Health at Bill Clinton job summit’

Published on July 7, 2011 in Health Care Reform and Research. 0 Comments

Group Health is designing its clinic of the future

By inourview

The following guest column by Michael Erikson, vice president of primary care services at Group Health and Jim Elliott, principal and healthcare specialist with GLY Construction, was published in the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce on June 23, 2011.

                                                                                                       

Michael Erikson                                                          Jim Elliott

What if there was a new way to design and build our medical centers? A way in which clinical staff, leaders, architects and builders worked together from day one to create a facility that truly met patient, staff and business needs for years to come?

Well, that future is here now. Changing the design and delivery of health care facilities involves an investment for decades, so it’s important to get everyone in the room and get it right.

So that’s what we are doing. With several clinics scheduled for replacement in 2012 and beyond, Group Health Cooperative saw an opportunity to design an environment that supports an unparalleled patient experience, and joined with partners CollinsWoerman and GLY Construction to pursue that vision.  Continue reading ‘Group Health is designing its clinic of the future’

Published on July 6, 2011 in Health Care Innovations. 1 Comment