Low-value Care

Top US hospitals and unnecessary back surgeries: How they stack up

Abstract: In the last three years, U.S. hospitals performed more than 200,000 unnecessary back surgeries on Medicare beneficiaries, according to a Nov. 14 report by the Lown Institute Hospital Index.

Publication: Becker's Clinical Leadership

Date Published: November 14, 2024

Author(s): Mariah Taylor

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To eliminate medication overload, serious cultural, educational, and policy changes are needed. This action plan offers recommendations for policymakers, health care institutions, clinicians, and patients across five key categories to reduce harm from multiple medication use. Suggested Citation: Eliminating medication overload: A national action plan. Working Group on Medication Overload. Brookline, MA: The Lown Institute, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.46241/LI.YLBW4885

Pharmaceutical marketing is a significant factor in the growing public health crisis of medication overload, which puts millions of older adults at risk of preventable harm and premature death. This issue brief provides recommendations to reduce pharmaceutical industry influence by limiting pharma sales rep visits to clinicians and direct-to-consumer advertising.

This issue brief provides recommendations for clinical practice guidelines and electronic health records that would give clinicians the information they need to appropriately prescribe and deprescribe.