Articles by Emily Friedman

The pressure on hospitals, clinics, systems, physicians and other providers to get wired is profound. There are federal incentives and penalties, payer demands for quality data, and many other requirements. Yet some providers — especially physicians — are still resisting digitization. Why? And should we be taking their concerns more seriously?

Some saw the ACA as the answer to health care's woes; others wanted market-based incentives. In the end, there was a single-payer system, but not the one advocates envisioned.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is no stranger to controversy. But he may have set a new standard for polarizing people with his campaign to make unhealthy food — supersized soft drinks, sugary and starchy snacks, and other products — as unavailable to New Yorkers as possible. In doing so, he has become the touchstone for a national debate over how much pressure to adopt healthy lifestyles is too much.

Earlier this year, nine medical specialty societies issued a list of 45 tests and procedures that their members concluded are not indicated in all of the situations in which they are used. It was the latest salvo in a long battle over whether much of the care provided to patients is effective and advisable. But this is a complex picture, replete with issues of physician judgment, medical education, patient preference and the threat of malpractice litigation. Is there a way through these woods?

From aging to generational change, the 2010 Census has major implications for health care providers.

Should nonprofit boards be compensated?

Public health officials worry about the uncertain future of safety-net hospitals.

A major debate is taking place regarding what to do about our aging population. From accusations that some politicians are trying to "kill Granny" to proposals for various aged-based rationing schemes, to howls of discrimination from older citizens, the situation has gotten quite messy.

Stirring reports from the health care community in Japan and Afghanistan were among the highlights at last week's International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare.

Twenty-five years ago, EMTALA was signed into law, transforming health care in ways that are still being felt today.

The public's trust in health care has long been assumed. But the erosion of trust that has spread throughout our society has not exempted health care, and providers should take a hard look at themselves and their practices to preserve and strengthen that special bond.

The public's trust in health care has long been assumed. But the erosion of trust that has spread throughout our society has not exempted health care, and providers should take a hard look at themselves and their practices to preserve and strengthen that special bond.