Overdiagnosis and overtreatment – the experts aren’t immune either
The US health system pushes treatment over prevention. This approach has many flaws, one of the most unfortunate and costly being overdiagnosis and overtreatment. More
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‘The Black Butterfly’ Maps a Path to Racial Equity
In his new book, “The Black Butterfly,” public health scholar Lawrence Brown explores how urban housing and land use policies have been deployed as weapons of oppression against African Americans. More
The top 50 hospitals for racial inclusivity, according to the Lown Institute
The Lown Institute's report is yet another effort in a series of recent attempts to quantify and rank health care organizations' progress on achieving health equity. The authors delivered a bold and necessary message: Hospitals across the U.S. are racially segregated—that is to say, their Medicare patients' racial demographics don't match the demographics in their surrounding communities. These results might come as a shock to some—especially for those working at hospitals near the bottom of the list. But this data shouldn't be surprising. More
Enough to Wreck Their Rest: $10,322 for a Sleep Study
According to Dr. Vikas Saini, president of the Lown Institute, a think tank that analyzes low-value health care, sleep studies fall into a gray zone.
“They are incredibly useful and necessary in certain clinical circumstances,” he said. “But it’s known to be one that can be overused.”
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“Do I need to be knocked out for this procedure?” And other questions about anesthesia overuse
General anesthesia is necessary for some medical procedures, but can put children and older adults at risk of harm. In this guest blog, a medical student shares what they're learning about avoiding anesthesia overuse. More
Traumatised, burnt out & depressed — the silent crisis of Indian doctors in the second wave
Constant high-risk exposure to the virus, surrounded by death & long hours in sweat-drenched PPE kits that make even washroom breaks tricky, the struggle is nightmarish for doctors. More
A new tool tracks health disparities in the U.S. — and highlights major data gaps
A new tool called the Health Equity Tracker collects, analyzes, and makes visible data on health disparities entrenched in U.S. medicine. More
Tackling the Misconception That Cystic Fibrosis Is a “White People’s Disease”
This Medical News feature examines racial and ethnic disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of cystic fibrosis. More
Shuttered hospitals, soaring Covid-19 deaths: Rural Black communities lose a lifeline in the century’s worst health crisis
“I hate that it closed,” Latasha Taylor said. “That doesn’t make a lot of sense. Why would you close a hospital in the middle of a pandemic?” More
The Vaccine Rollout Is Changing How We Think about Prescription Meds
A new survey reveals that, for the first time, many Americans see pharmaceutical companies as brand names, just like Nike or Amazon More
VIDEO: Racial Inclusivity at US Hospitals
What's causing segregation in our health system, and what can we do about it? Watch the recording of the Lown Hospitals Index racial inclusivity launch to find out. More
Study: Inequity rampant among metro Atlanta hospitals
Two north Georgia hospitals fall among the 50 most segregated in U.S. metropolitan areas, and metro Atlanta tied for the largest number of such hospitals overall, according to a new study by the Lown Institute. More
A new report ranking urban hospitals based on racial inclusivity finds ‘de facto segregation’
Overall, in the top 50 most inclusive hospitals, people of color made up 61% of patients on average, compared to 17% in the bottom 50 hospitals. “This seems to be how the system works — [there is] a pattern of de facto segregation,” Saini, of the Lown Institute, said. In large urban areas, safety-net hospitals, which provide care regardless of a patient’s insurance status or ability to pay, almost exclusively cater to low-income people of color while other hospitals in the area take care of a whiter, richer population, Saini said. While there are several factors, including residential segregation and insurance status, driving this trend, it is a pretty clear example of structural racism. “The example I’ve been using is can anyone imagine having a Black airport and a white airport a mile apart? Does that even make any sense? And yet in some ways, that’s what we have with hospitals,” he said. More
10 most, least racially inclusive hospitals: Lown Institute
A new ranking from the Lown Institute, a nonpartisan healthcare think tank, examines racial inclusivity of more than 3,200 U.S. hospitals to assess which are best at serving the people of color in their communities. More
In many U.S. cities, most and least racially inclusive hospitals are neighbors, Lown Institute says
“The difference between the most and least inclusive hospitals is stark, especially when they are blocks away from each other,” Vikas Saini, M.D., president of the Lown Institute. “As the nation reckons with racial injustice, we cannot overlook our health system. Hospital leaders have a responsibility to better serve people of color and create a more equitable future.” More
Urban hospitals tend to cater to white patients, analysis finds
"It is a form of segregation, to be blunt," said Dr. Vikas Saini, president of the Lown Institute, describing many markets as the tale of two hospitals. "In big cities where there was a lot more diversity, there was a real tendency for some hospitals to cater to primarily wealthier, whiter and more educated patients. That left other hospitals to take care of the poor, less educated and minority patients." More
Racial segregation is common in urban hospital markets
“If you want to see structural racism, just look at big city hospitals during COVID. Hospitals with a history of serving communities of color needed refrigerator trucks to hold bodies of deceased patients, while wealthier hospitals nearby had empty beds,” said Vikas Saini, president of the Lown Institute. More
50 Hospitals Get Dubious Ranking on Racial Inclusion
"If you arrived from another planet and saw two airports a mile apart, one for Black people and another for whites, you'd think this is some kind of weird apartheid," Saini told MedPage Today. "We don't do that for airports, but somehow that's where we've ended up with hospitals, and everyone knows it. If you want an illustration of what structural racism is, this is it," he said. "The results are outlandish." More
Pandemic Leads Doctors to Rethink Unnecessary Treatment
Covid-caused delays in medical treatments and surgeries are producing data for health care providers to take another look at what’s needed and what isn’t. More
PRESS RELEASE: Racial segregation is common in urban hospital markets, analysis reveals
New rankings identify the most and least racially inclusive U.S. hospitals. Sometimes they are just blocks apart. More