Vikas Saini, MD

President

Vikas Saini

Vikas Saini, MD is president of the Lown Institute. He is a clinical cardiologist trained by Dr. Bernard Lown at Harvard, where he has taught and done research. Dr. Saini leads the Institute’s signature project, the Lown Institute Hospitals Index, the first ranking to measure hospital social responsibility. The Index, first launched in July 2020, evaluates hospitals on equity, value, and outcomes, and includes never-before-used metrics such as avoiding overuse, pay equity, and racial inclusivity.  

In his role at the Lown Institute since 2012, Dr. Saini led the development of the Right Care series of papers published by The Lancet in 2017; convened six national conferences featuring world-renowned leaders in health care; and guided other Lown Institute projects such as the “Shkreli Awards.” Dr. Saini also serves as co-chair of the Right Care Alliance, a grassroots network of clinicians, patient activists, and community leaders organizing to put patients, not profits, at the heart of health care.

Prior to the Lown Institute, Dr. Saini was in private practice in cardiology for over 15 years on Cape Cod, where he also founded a primary care physician network participating in global payment contracts. He also co-founded Aspect Medical Systems, the pioneer in noninvasive consciousness monitoring in the operating room with the BIS device.

Dr. Saini is an expert on the optimal medical management of cardiologic conditions, medical overuse, hospital performance and evaluation, and health equity. He has spoken and presented research at professional meetings around the world, and has been quoted in numerous print media, radio, and television.

Speaking engagements

2022

2022 Medicaid Institute
The Center for Community Solutions — October 11, 2022
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Hospital Prices: The Policy and the Practical
32BJ Health Fund 2022 Fall Conference — September 22, 2022
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Lown Presents: 2022 Most Socially Responsible Hospitals
The Lown Institute — June 28, 2022
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Lown Presents: Hospital Overuse During COVID
The Lown Institute — May 17, 2022
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Lown Presents: Are nonprofit hospitals earning their tax breaks?
The Lown Institute — April 12, 2022
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Lown Presents: Racial inclusivity during COVID
The Lown Institute — March 17, 2022
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Lown Presents: Hospital CEO compensation: Why are they paid so much?
The Lown Institute — February 15, 2022
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2021

The Lown Hospital Social Responsibility Index: Measuring what matters to drive meaningful change
Mount Sinai Institute for Critical Care Medicine — December 9, 2021
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Measuring the Social Responsibility of American Hospitals
UPenn Department of Bioethics Seminar — December 7, 2021

Lown Presents: Hospital cost efficiency: Dollars and lives at stake
The Lown Institute — November 9, 2021
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The Lown Hospital Index
Cleveland Black Health Coalition — November 8, 2021

The Chalfen Lecture
Cambridge Health Alliance — November 4, 2021

Measuring and Curbing Medical Overuse: Moving from Volume to Value
US News and World Report: Live — November 3, 2021
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Lown Presents: 2021 Most Socially Responsible Hospitals in America
The Lown Institute — September 21, 2021
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Lown Presents: 2021 Top Hospitals for Community Benefit
The Lown Institute — July 12, 2021
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Assessment of Overuse of Medical tests and Treatments at US Hospitals
Mass General Brigham Quality and Safety Journal Club — June 16, 2021

Lown Presents: 2021 Top Hospitals for Racial Inclusivity
The Lown Institute — May 25, 2021
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Lown Presents: 2021 Top Hospitals for Avoiding Overuse
The Lown Institute — May 4, 2021
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Evaluating Hospitals on Health Value and Equity
Race to Value Podcast — March 22, 2021
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The 2020 Shkreli Awards for the Worst Examples of Profiteering and Dysfunction in Health Care
Relentless Health Value Podcast — February 18, 2021
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Lown presents: The promise of a cooperative hospital sector
The Lown Institute — January 27, 2021
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Measuring Hospital Civic Leadership for Meaningful Change in Health Equity
Temple University School of Medicine– January 13, 2021

Grand Rounds: Evaluating Hospitals as Civic Leaders
Temple University Hospital — January 7, 2021

2020 Shkreli Awards Countdown
The Lown Institute — January 5, 2021
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2020

Lown presents: Racism and hospitals
The Lown Institute — October 21, 2020
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The Right Care Alliance and the Lown Institute Hospitals Index
Frontier Nursing University — October 20, 2020

Measuring What Matters to Drive Meaningful Change
Massachusetts Health Data Consortium — September 30, 2020
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Best Hospitals for America
Open Markets Institute — July 14, 2020
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Physician Advocacy for the Sick, the Poor and Social Justice: Making a Difference
Tufts University Department of Medicine — June 12, 2020

2019

Medical Grand Rounds – Drug Pricing in America: A Case Study of Market Failure
Case Western Reserve University Hospital (Cleveland, OH) – May 14, 2019

2018

Insulin in America: A Case Study in Market Failure
Joslin Diabetes Center (Boston, MA) – October 24, 2018 

The ORBITA Study: Evidence Base Prior to the Study, Study Design, Findings, Lingering Questions
Yale University (New Haven, CT) – May 31, 2018

Keynote: Challenges Faced for Right/Ethical Healthcare in a Global Context
Alliance of Doctors for Ethical Healthcare (New Delhi, India ) – April 2018 

Breaking the Cycle of High Cost & Low Value: America’s Next Health System. Welcome, Introductions, and Closing Remarks
Lown Institute  (Washington, DC) – April 9-10, 2018

Cardiology Grand Rounds
Lahey Hospital and Medical Center (Burlington, MA) – February 15, 2018

2017

The Challenge of Delivering the Right Care
Hospital Compliance Forum. (Sao Paul, Brazil) – November 30, 2017

The Concept of Appropriateness of Care and Its Determinants (panel)
Colloque HAS (La Haute Autorité de Santé) (Paris, France) – November 14, 2017

Restoring Relationships to Transform Healthcare
McGill School of Medicine (Montreal, Canada) – October 12, 2017

Medical Grand Rounds
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (Baltimore, MD) – October 10, 2017

Providing the Right Care: A Systematic Framework
High Value Practice Academic Research Alliance (Baltimore, MD) – October 9, 2017

Society for Academic Emergency Medicine  (Columbia, Missouri) – October 7, 2017

The Challenge of Defining the Right Care
The Missouri Chapter of the American College of Physicians (Osage Beach, MO) – September 16, 2017

Defining the Right Care Requires a New Science.
Preventing Overdiagnosis 2017 (Quebec, Canada) – August 19, 2017

The Fourth International Seminar on Patient Safety and Clinical Excellence.
(Madrid, Spain) – May 11, 2017

The Fourth International Seminar on Patient Safety and Clinical Excellence.
(Madrid, Spain) – May 11, 2017

Beyond the Bottom Line: Defending the Human Connection in Health Care. Welcome, Introductions, and Closing Remarks
Lown Institute Conference (Quincy, MA) – May 5-7, 2017

Focus on Efficiency
Technical Working Group (Washington, DC) – April 20, 2017

A Hundred Year Flood: Rethinking Modern Medicine (Medical Grand Rounds)
Stanford School of Medicine  (Stanford, CA) – April 12, 2017