Dr. Robert Wachter - 10 Healthcare Bloggers We're Thankful For

Who: Dr. Robert (Bob) Wachter

Blog: Wachter's World

About the blogger: Wachter is professor and associate chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. He is also chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine, chief of the medical service at UCSF Medical Center and a national advocate for patient safety. He is also the author of Understanding Patient Safety.

What makes this blog so fierce? Wachter tackles big topics with a mix of story telling and analysis that is highly readable. It's possible to get lost in his blog for hours. A fundamental honesty shines through, especially in his piece, "If there's a doctor on board, please ring your call button," where he shares war stories about answering the call for a doctor and sheepishly admits that he hasn't rushed  to offer his services, even when the patient is sitting across the aisle from him.

Focus: Wachter offers lively and iconoclastic ruminations on hospitals, hospitalists, quality and patient safety.

Quote: On why physicians have ignored issues surrounding fatigue: "A few years back, someone told me in a voice of hushed reverence usually reserved for descriptions of flawless beach days and single malt scotch, '[legendary heart surgeon Michael DeBakey] performed 16 open heart operations in a single day.' This was clearly intended to impress, but all I could think was, 'Boy, I wouldn't want to be patient #16.' "