This is Prometheus, a Pinus longaeva thought to be the oldest living thing when he was felled 1964. At nearly 5,000 years old, the rings in Prometheus’ massive trunk tell the story of a bristlecone pine whose life stretched from the end of the bronze age through the beginning of the space age. Thick rings …
As 2017 draws to a close, authors across the nation will spill their ink recapping the year as one of great polarization. Today's vocabulary is replete with extremes, as paid political operatives from the left, right, center and sidelines all declare these to be the worst, most divisive, most challenging times anyone has ever faced. …
"I’ve never wanted to make nurses feel like they have to convince me to come to a bedside. I’ve always said, ‘If you want me to come look at the baby just say so and I’ll come.’ Ninety percent of the time it is clinically worth the trip. The 10% of the time that everything’s …
Thanks to the folks at HealthLeaders Media and reporter Debra Shute for interviewing me for this story. One of the key messages we landed on was this: "...the push toward accountable populations while simultaneously meeting consumers in their living rooms are dual trends that will definitely need to be resolved within the next 10 years." …
It's hard to believe it's been a year since our family's longtime friend and canine companion Bartlet passed away. This is a post I wrote at drderienzo.com last year to celebrate his life and share the lessons we learned from a pound puppy with a white shock of fur, an inexplicable fear of water bowls, …
Here's a new Chapter excerpt called Getting There - happy summer everyone! We are standing on the threshold of both heaven and hell, dancing nervously between the gates of one and the ante room of the other. -Yuval Harari, Sapiens The nausea was so overwhelming it nearly sent me to the ground. I’d spent 31 …
"After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die. A spider's life can't help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone's life can stand a little of …
I've been playing with a book idea for a few months, writing and re-writing the introduction and toying with different ways to shape the chapters. It's still not fully baked, but the concept at least is formed enough to see if it would resonate... So, in the spirit of leveraging all the 21st century has …
As part an "Insight Council" survey I was recently asked: “If you had a magic wand and could change *only one thing* about health payment reform what would it be?" Now let's be clear - picking just one thing to fix about how America pays for healthcare is like trying to find and fix only the …
Continue reading "Elementary School, Insurance, and the Free Market"
Leaders prove their worth during times of great uncertainty. We live in uncertain times. Multiple fundamental aspects of American life all face a crossroads... and healthcare is at the top of the list. With this in mind, I had the great fortune today to share my thoughts on navigating the enormous change in healthcare with …
