Flashback Friday: The Craziness of “Top Doctor” Lists That Aren’t Necessarily the Tops

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Back in 2013, I wrote a LinkedIn article (orread on Medium) about how the “Doctors: Best of 2013” list in a San Antonio magazine had a disclaimer that warned:

“S.A. Doctors: Best of 2013 is the name of our publication, not a title or moniker conferred upon individual physicians.”

“No representation is made that the quality of services provided by the physicians listed will be greater than that of other licensed physicians.”

I wasn't really surprised by this. I did accidentally say “Best Doctors” at one point in the article and that led to me getting a sternly-worded email from the BestDoctors.com people telling me not to confuse them with the “Doctors: Best of” lists.

I made sure not to make that mistake again. I was NOT talking about BestDoctors.com. I'm sure they are legit.

But, it turns out the Top Doctors list is dubious too, since they called and offered noted healthcare journalist Marshall Allen a “Top Doctors” award. He didn't seek this out. ‘They cold-called him and claimed he had been nominated. He told them he was a journalist and not a doctor… but they sold it to him for $99 anyway.

His story is an example of “truth is stranger than fiction.”

It's a gripping read. And also check out his important work on patient safety, including this one blog post that I was allowed to publish here under Creative Commons license.

Well, have a good weekend…

Tweet of the Day

On a more positive train of thought, I enjoyed a site visit at a health system with some really engaged executive leadership, as discussed in this Twitter thread:

For those of you who can't get to Twitter, here is the text:

After her “zero harm” webinar yesterday, it's nice to be with @meghanmscanlon at a health system today that places the elimination of harm as the primary goal of #Lean and improvement efforts. @ValueCapture1

This system has a CEO who is engaged and directly participating in leading the effort. It hasn't just been delegated. He's coaching others on problem solving on a daily basis.

I love how they talk about “getting better at getting better.” That's the theme of my book “Practicing Lean.” (link: http://practicinglean.com) practicinglean.com

3 insights from one of their execs: 1) “Ideal results require ideal behavior” 2) “Behaviors are driven by purpose and systems” 3) “Principles inform ideal behavior” — to help design systems that actually work

They believe leaders are responsible for creating a system and environment in which staff can be successful. “Always having what they need to do the work” and what they need to improve. Powerful principles


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Mark Graban
Mark Graban is an internationally-recognized consultant, author, and professional speaker, and podcaster with experience in healthcare, manufacturing, and startups. Mark's new book is The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation. He is also the author of Measures of Success: React Less, Lead Better, Improve More, the Shingo Award-winning books Lean Hospitals and Healthcare Kaizen, and the anthology Practicing Lean. Mark is also a Senior Advisor to the technology company KaiNexus.

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