Remaking American Medicine

What is Remaking American Medicine (RAM)?

Remaking American Medicine is a four-part national Public Broadcasting System (PBS) documentary focusing on individuals and health care institutions working to provide the best quality health care for all. The documentary was filmed from the perspective of practitioners, patients, family members and others involved in health care. Major funding for the series, which will air in October 2006, was provided by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The ultimate goal of Remaking American Medicine is to inspire and empower viewers and to show what transforming the quality of care can mean.

The Programs in the Series

Program One: Silent Killer. Every year, at least 98,000 Americans are killed, and countless more are injured, as a result of medical errors. This program begins by profiling the efforts of Sorrel King, whose 18-month-old daughter died at one of the most respected hospitals in the world, Johns Hopkins. King has gone from grieving victim to engaged activist, partnering with Johns Hopkins to make safety a top priority at the institution. Now she has joined forces with Dr. Donald Berwick, a nationally recognized patient safety advocate, to save 100,000 lives in American hospitals.

Program Two: First, Do No Harm. This program focuses on the impact of hospital-acquired infections and medical errors in two institutions, and follows the efforts of physicians who are challenging their colleagues to live up to their oath to "First, Do No Harm." In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Chief of Medicine Dr. Richard Shannon is confronting an epidemic of hospital-acquired infections that are shattering the lives of their victims. Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey is engaged in an effort to completely transform the way the institution delivers care. The goal in both hospitals is to ensure that the people trusted to provide safe and effective medical treatment do not harm patients.

Program Three: The Stealth Epidemic. Chronic diseases, like diabetes and congestive heart failure, affect nearly 100 million Americans, and treatment of these illnesses consumes nearly 70 percent of all health care resources. Yet doctors are often unable to prevent needless suffering or even death, and these failures are threatening the viability of our entire health care system. This program looks at groundbreaking efforts in two very different communities -- Los Angeles and Whatcom County in the state of Washington -- that are fundamentally transforming the physician-patient relationship, and offer a glimmer of hope for patients across the country who are struggling with their chronic conditions.

Program Four: Hand in Hand. As medicine continues to become more and more technologically sophisticated and the systems that deliver medical care become more complex, the relationship between providers and patients and their families is more important than ever. This final program tells the story of patients and families who have formed a unique bond in a teaching hospital in Augusta, Georgia to transform the institution into a nationally recognized facility, where partnership is a guiding vision to the care it delivers.

How was IPRO involved?

As the Medicare-contracted Quality Improvement Organization for New York State, IPRO conducted an outreach campaign for Remaking American Medicine, the goal of which was to increase community involvement and dialogue around health care quality improvement. IPRO partnered with other states to highlight care that reaches out to all populations by preparing a video segment that featured both a Spanish-language diabetes management initiative as well as a New York demonstration of diabetes self management education for African American seniors.

Learning to live with Sugar - Real or Windows Video

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Related Information

Remaking American Medicine National Web Site
View Excerpts from the Series
Remaking American Medicine National Partners
Question & Answer with Frank Christopher, Executive Producer, Remaking American Medicine
Patient Safety Resources

Taking a Closer Look at Remaking American Medicine Part 1 and Part 2