Many physicians' bonuses, 73% per data from 2019-2020, are tied to relative value units (RVUs), which measure time, skill and effort for each patient a physician sees. Fewer physician bonuses are tied to quality-of-care measures, or protocols and processes that encourage increased patient safety measures and decreased death rates. More
When estimating how well a patient’s kidneys are working, doctors frequently turn to an equation that depends on a question: Is the patient Black? More
The covid-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the challenges facing rural health care, such as lack of broadband internet access and limited public transportation. For much of the vaccine rollout, those barriers have made it difficult for providers, like community health centers, to get shots into the arms of their patients. More
“Hospitals reside in communities and are part of communities. Our view is they shouldn’t just serve a community, they should genuinely be part of a community,” said Vikas Saini, a physician and president of the Lown Institute. “A lot of the contemporary rankings that look at reputation or mortality, surgical complications, don’t capture that dimension. We set out to create a lens through which to view the hospital system that’s different.”
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Pressure is mounting on Congress and the Biden administration to make permanent pandemic-inspired rules that fueled telehealth growth. Some fear fraud and ballooning costs. More
A survey of 164 New York physicians found that one in five were severely distressed during their first COVID-19 triage decisions and last-minute training did not appear to alleviate stress, according to a study yesterday in Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness. More
People don’t trust an industry known for bureaucratic traps and surprise billing to save them from the pandemic. More
It’s called the “history of present illness,” or HPI, and it often includes a patient’s race—which is more likely to detract from care than to improve it More
A new study challenges the conventional wisdom on why many doctors refuse to take Medicaid patients. More
Older adults often take more medications than they need, or than is safe. Increasingly, geriatric experts and their patients are exploring the benefits of “deprescribing.” More
Federal immigration officials failed to monitor medical treatment at a South Georgia detention center where dozens of women say they underwent unwanted procedures, including hysterectomies, newly released documents show. More
Attempt to hold a worker criminally liable for the spread of Covid resulted in Josefina Brito-Fernandez losing her license to work, fearing deportation More
Through the years, we’ve learned not to underestimate the lengths to which institutions and individuals will go to protect their bottom lines. We like to think that no bad behavior can surprise us anymore—but then we learn better. Last year, we found a pharmaceutical company seeking the financially advantageous “orphan” drug designation for a drug it said was for a rare disease. The disease was COVID-19.
When we put all the examples of Shkreli-like behavior together, they stop looking like anecdotes and start looking like evidence. That’s the point of the awards: to highlight the structural weaknesses in health care that allow this kind of behavior to occur.
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The lack of paid sick leave for all disproportionately impacts women and exacerbates the disparities they already face in the workplace. More
This cohort study examines the frequency of use and persistent use of benzodiazepines among patients undergoing major and minor surgical procedures. More
Overuse is ubiquitous across medical specialties, and obstetrics and gynecology are no exceptions. Two recent studies shine a light on the problem of overuse in women's health. More
The Lown Institute Shkreli Awards spotlights the worst examples of profiteering and dysfunction in U.S. health care. Named for Martin Shkreli, the price-hiking “pharma bro” that everyone loves to hate, the awards have been issued each year since 2017. MORE SHKRELI: Archives | Current Year Ripping off the dying: Nursing homes give terminal residents expensive, […] More
“Overuse is ubiquitous,” said Dr. Vikas Saini, president of the Lown Institute. “Nearly every hospital is doing at least some things that patients don’t really need.”
“There is improvement,” he added, “but it is very slow and it is very uneven.”
Saini, of the Lown Institute, said he hopes more attention on overuse will push hospitals to do better. “We’re trying to create new norms for what it means to be a good hospital,” he said.
The number of Americans 65 and older is expected to nearly double in the next 40 years. Finding a way to provide and pay for the long-term health services they need won’t be easy. More
Black women are three times more likely to die in childbirth than white women. Some of them look to Black doctors for a sense of safety and connection, while medical schools add anti-racism training. More