Over the past four years, Horgan, with his surgical team at the University of California San Diego Health System, Santiago Horgan, MD, has performed 80 surgeries that use the body's natural openings—the vagina or the mouth—to remove organs and tissue. The surgical team is well its way to proving it can reduce operating time and the risk of infection, lower the need for anesthesia, minimize pain, and lessen or eliminate scarring, hasten patients' recovery and reduce complications better than with traditional laparoscopic approaches, he says. [Read more]

Petitti is a strong proponent that the healthcare industry needs to constantly reevaluate its practices and treatments in light of new evidence. But changing the status quo is often easier said than done, she has learned firsthand.[Read more]

When asked where he sees himself in 10 years, Fisher commonly hailed as the father of accountable care organizations, is self effacing. "I might be in hiding because ACOs failed," he jokes. [Read more]

For trauma surgeon John Brebbia, MD, volunteer work in Haiti after the Jan. 12 earthquake was inspired by the memory of a fallen colleague, as much as it was by the knowledge that the practical expertise and care he could provide was desperately needed in the stricken island nation. [Sponsored by McKesson]

For decades, there was a dirty little secret in healthcare. Everyone knew it existed, but no one wanted to talk about it. The secret was that bad behavior and bullying were rampant. In a supposedly caring profession, some caregivers were not caring at all, to the point that they made lives miserable and disrupted patient care. Kathleen Bartholomew's strong voice shone a light on the problem. She has made it her life's work to end bullying and bad behavior by physicians and nurses. [Sponsored by McKesson]

For decades, there was a dirty little secret in healthcare. Everyone knew it existed, but no one wanted to talk about it. The secret was that bad behavior and bullying were rampant. In a supposedly caring profession, some caregivers were not caring at all, to the point that they made lives miserable and disrupted patient care. Kathleen Bartholomew's strong voice shone a light on the problem. She has made it her life's work to end bullying and bad behavior by physicians and nurses. [Sponsored by McKesson]

To find a working, bipartisan, political system that focuses on practical results within budgetary constraints, leave the Beltway and look to the states. In striking contrast to Congress, Vermont provides a great example of what Republicans and Democrats can achieve in healthcare when they agree upon a common goal. And perhaps no one better embodies that bipartisan spirit in the Green Mountain State than long-serving Republican Gov. Jim Douglas. [Sponsored by McKesson]

Karen Bowden, president of ClaimTrust Consulting Services, a Tennessee-based in-hospital revenue cycle consulting firm discusses how RAC views "wrong setting" denials, and how you can prevent problems for your hospital. [Sponsored by Emdeon]

Michael Dowling, CEO of North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, has set a 10-year goal for his organization to be in the top metric in terms of quality, patient safety, patient satisfaction, and care coordination. "You want to be in a situation that when people come to North Shore they get the full complement of services, easily coordinated, with total transparency and communication. Where people leave at the end of the day and say, 'That was a great experience,'" he says. Here, he talks about how the organization is putting patient care at the center of everything they do. [Sponsored by Medseek]

Listen to HealthLeaders Media's Philip Betbeze's conversation with Paul Hanson, president and CEO of North Country Health Services in Minnesota, about the smaller system's recent decision to merge with South Dakota's Sanford Health. It's a fascinating discussion about a trend—consolidation—that's slowly picking up steam. [Sponsored by Emdeon]

The healthcare system is on the cusp of accepting the positive influence of patient experience on quality, says Steve Ronstrom, president and CEO of Hospital Sisters Health System Division and CEO of Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire, WI. In a recent interview, the lead advisor for the HealthLeaders Media Intelligence Report, Patient Experience: Help Wanted, explains how basics such as infrastructure and technology combined with the people skills of empathy and caring can improve outcomes. [Sponsored by Medseek]