Paul B. Hofmann is a health care consultant.

What is vulnerability in leadership?

Conditions
December 16, 2025

“The Power of Vulnerability,” a TED Talk by Brené Brown, PhD, has been viewed more than 66 million times. Rather than interpreting vulnerability as a sign of weakness, she suggests that it is a measure of courage, which, in turn, is the “birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.” She asserts the courage to acknowledge imperfection, to be kind to ourselves and to others, actually strengthens us. Brown concedes that …

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What is vulnerability in leadership?

Hospitals should recognize and address administrative harm

Policy
October 16, 2024

“Administrative harm is destroying American medicine” is the title of a provocative article published in the July 13, 2024, issue of KevinMD by Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA. He references business entrepreneur and billionaire Michael B. Kim, who said: “Leadership without ethics is a body without a soul.” As examples of administrative harms, Dr. Lazarus cites “unrealistic staffing models, burdensome regulations, out-of-touch administrators, lack of frank feedback to leaders, and …

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Hospitals should recognize and address administrative harm

The true value and power of respect is too often undervalued

Conditions
April 15, 2023

Everyone recognizes that respect is essential in critical relationships with colleagues, patients, their families, and others. So why should the topic deserve closer scrutiny?

Seven Ways to Fix Policing NOW: Building Trust, Authentic Partnerships, and Safe Communities was authored by Kathleen O’Toole and my colleague Robert Peirce. They describe why a Chicago detective had such an exceptional gift for handling even the most fraught situations.

He explained that “everyone was born a …

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The true value and power of respect is too often undervalued

Jimmy Carter’s end-of-life decision: Respecting patient autonomy and the importance of hospice care

Conditions
April 12, 2023

A KevinMD article about Jimmy Carter’s end-of-life care decision, “The heartbreaking story of Jimmy Carter: a call for Medicare reform in end-of-life care,” indicated that the former president’s decision was heartbreaking. However, I have a different view. In my opinion, the 39th president, at age 98, made an autonomous and well-informed decision.

On February 18, The Carter Center announced in a statement that “after a series of short hospital stays, …

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Jimmy Carter’s end-of-life decision: Respecting patient autonomy and the importance of hospice care

Would a Hippocratic Oath for health care executives make a difference?

Policy
January 4, 2020

Would a Hippocratic Oath for health care executives make a difference? Probably not. Nonetheless, there is ample evidence that the organizational cultures of too many hospitals are not conducive to physician well-being.

In a provocative blog posted on May 2, 2019, emergency medicine physician Mark Borden indicated a Hippocratic Oath was urgently needed for administrators.

Dr. Borden wrote: “Physician employment was, and is, obviously an intrinsically flawed structure …

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Would a Hippocratic Oath for health care executives make a difference?