Low-value Care

Hospitals in South Fare Worst in Avoiding Low-Value Tests, Analysis Finds

Abstract: More than 1 million tests and procedures that Medicare patients received in hospitals over a three-year period were likely not needed, according to an analysis released today. Most of the top performing hospitals in the Lown Institute Hospital Index are not from large, well-known health systems that appear on the annual rankings of U.S. News and World Report—in fact, only Cleveland Clinic, which ranked 58th on the Lown list, is on the U.S. News honor roll, according to the a statement on findings.

Publication: Chief Healthcare Executive

Date Published: May 4, 2021

Author(s): Mary Caffrey

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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.