Upping our social investments for health
Can doctors "prescribe" social supports like financial assistance to improve health? More
Blog
Aduhelm sparks action on accelerated approval process
The approval of Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm through the accelerated pathway has brought new attention to needed improvements to this process. More
Living toxic in America, part 1
Can you name a prescription drug that makes you healthy? What would it be? Over 66% of the US population takes prescription medication regularly. The elderly are in worse shape. As a group, 40% of them take five or more prescriptions, and nearly 10% take ten or more prescription drugs daily, according to a 2020 report from the nonpartisan think tank Lown Institute. More
Some cancer centers don’t follow evidence-based guidelines for prostate screening
In America's cancer centers, where many patients go for specialized cancer treatment, prostate screening policies do not always align with evidence-based recommendations. More
How mental health apps can accelerate the psychiatric prescribing cascade
Mental health apps designed to improve access to care may be driving overdiagnosis and overmedication, a recent investigation finds. More
Kansas City hospital care ranked 3rd most segregated, St. Louis ranks 2nd: report
In St. Louis and Kansas City, the vast majority of their hospitals land at the extremes of our inclusivity scale,” said Vikas Saini. “Some are super over-serving, if you will, black and Hispanic and poor populations, and others are really under-serving, and there are not many that are kind of in the middle.” Saini said in order to have fair, quality and equitable health care for everybody, we have to change the way we organize and pay for hospital care. “It can’t be this kind of market competition, revenue-seeking model,” he said. Saini said he dreams of a health care system where hospitals are given a budget to care for an entire community, rather than on a patient-by-patient basis. More
Lown Institute: Hospitals across 15 major cities deliver high racially segregated care
A new report found that hospitals in 15 large U.S. cities — led by Detroit and St. Louis — were highly segregated, but care for COVID-19 was more equitable. “Hospitals deserve praise for stepping up to the plate and being more inclusive during COVID, but we need them to be more inclusive all the time,” said Saini in a statement. More
10 most segregated hospital markets
Metro Detroit hospitals the most racially segregated in the U.S., study says
Hospital Populations Do Not Reflect Communities, Imperil Health Equity
Some 50 percent of hospitals in the United States are racially segregated, meaning the patient populations they serve do not reflect the demographics of their communities, according to the latest analysis from healthcare thinktank Lown Institute which was emailed to journalists. This imperils national efforts for addressing health equity. More
PRESS RELEASE: America’s most segregated hospital markets are Detroit, St. Louis, Kansas City
Lown Institute Analysis Shows Hospitals Are More Equitable When Caring for COVID Patients. More
Award recognizes Bitterroot Health as #4 “critical access” hospital in U.S.
There've been a variety of awards in recent years for the organization now known collectively as Bitterroot Health. But the latest from the LOWN Institute is unique, rating 3,000 hospitals and health care systems on criteria such as social responsibility with regard to cost, healthy outcomes and benefits to a community. More
Vikas Saini and Judith Garber Discuss Nonprofit Hospital CEO Compensation
During this 33 minute conversation Dr. Saini and Ms. Garber discuss CEO bonuses during the pandemic, discuss generally CEO compensation as an outlier in the nonprofit sector, discuss the substance of their research findings including what explains CEO compensation and conclude by discussing what criteria should be used in calculating CEO compensation. More
Surgeons work to keep fading American shopping malls alive
The health care industry will soon be offering elective surgery where Americans once bought their underpants. “There is a certain logic to it,” said Vikas Saini, a cardiologist who is head of the Lown Institute, a think tank. He sees it as part of a general trend “towards the commercialisation of healthcare”. Dr Saini thinks that malls in wealthier suburbs might hold a particular allure for hospitals. “The most desirable patient is the upscale patient who is healthy, who has commercial insurance and who can get some kind of elective surgery, like their knee or something, that’s very lucrative,” he said. More
Are nonprofit hospitals serving their fair share of Medicaid patients?
Do nonprofit hospitals have higher unreimbursed Medicaid costs than for-profit hospitals? More
Racism impacts health – how do we account for it?
Why is it equitable to take race into account in healthcare in some cases but not others? The answer lies in the distinction between race and racism. More
Racial inclusivity in Covid
Join us March 17 at 1pm as we announce the most racially inclusive hospitals in America, and discuss the impact of Covid on hospital inclusivity. More
Bringing Medication Reconciliation and Pharmacovigilance from France
According to stats from the Lown Institute, 1 in 250 Americans go to a hospital emergency room each year due to an adverse drug event. That’s millions of people going to the hospital due to adverse drug events. What a big problem. More
How to identify low-value prescribing practices
A newly-developed metric of low-value prescribing practices helps fill an important gap in the research of overuse metrics. More
As many as 25% of screening colonoscopies are unnecessary, study finds
As many as 25% of screening colonoscopies are not consistent with national guidelines, according to a recent systematic review. More