Op-Ed: How doctor culture sinks U.S. healthcare
Physicians' values and norms save our lives and cost us dearly. More
Blog
Why vaccine equity still matters
Vaccination rates are significantly lower in communities of color in Massachusetts. The primary reason for this wide gap is that people are still not being met where they are. More
NFL families seek to end ‘race-norming’ in $1B settlement of brain injury claims
Thousands of retired Black professional football players, their families and supporters are demanding an end to the controversial use of "race-norming" to determine which players are eligible in the NFL's $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims. More
Latinos Are the Most Eager to Get Vaccinated, Survey Shows — But Face Obstacles
Hispanics who have yet to receive a covid shot are about twice as likely as non-Hispanic whites or Blacks to say they’d like to get vaccinated as soon as possible, according to a survey released Thursday. The findings hint at fixable, though difficult, vaccine access problems for the population. More
My ‘postmortem’ folder and the intensely personal nature of the latest Covid-19 surge
The latest Covid-19 surge felt extra personal as more and more of my patients' names were appearing in my email's 'postmortem' folder. More
How COVID broke the evidence pipeline
The pandemic stress-tested the way the world produces evidence — and revealed all the flaws. More
Lead, Mistrust, and Trauma—Whistleblowing Pediatrician Discusses the Legacy of Flint’s Water Crisis
This Medical News article is an interview with Mona Hanna-Attisha, MD, MPH, the Flint, Michigan, pediatrician who discovered elevated blood lead levels among children exposed to the city’s drinking water. More
Designing a Successful Primary Care Physician Capitation Model
This Viewpoint proposes 7 elements necessary for a successful transition from a fee-for-service (FFS) to a capitated payment model for primary care physicians, all intended to sustain their ability to improve the quality and value of the care they provide while reducing costs. More
Paid Parental Leave Policies Among U.S. News & World Report 2020-2021 Best Hospitals and Best Hospitals for Cancer
This cross-sectional study examines paid parental leave policies for faculty and staff physicians at leading US hospitals and cancer centers. More
Ethical Issues Raised Over FDA Collaboration with Biogen on Failed Drug
The FDA collaborated with Biogen to conduct repeated re-analyses of aducanumab for Alzheimer's and FDA committee members are raising concerns. More
Acknowledging its ‘white patriarchy’ and racist past, the AMA pledges to dismantle causes of health inequities
The report catalogues many of the ways the AMA has excluded Black, brown, and Native physicians, espoused racism, and harmed people of color. More
Researchers fear people of color may be disproportionately affected by long Covid
Many vulnerable communities lack access to quality care, or face heightened burdens to convince providers that their conditions are real. More
My work as a Black OB-GYN tempered my joy as I prepared to give birth
Black women are electing unusual and creative birth plans to ensure their survival, their babies' survival, and the health of their families. More
A tale of three countries: How access to surgeries differs by income across health systems
A recent study looks at how high- and low-income patients access common cancer surgeries in the US, Canada, and Australia. More
Rather than turning its back on the QALY, pharma should collaborate on efforts to improve it
The quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) attempts to capture the impact of disease. It's a metric worth improving, not discarding. More
Hospitals get 1st CMS warning on price transparency failure
CMS has started issuing its first round of warning letters to hospitals not in compliance with the hospital price disclosure rule, a CMS spokesperson confirmed to Becker's May 5. More
Covid Testing Has Turned Into a Financial Windfall for Hospitals and Other Providers
Because there are no caps on cost, consumers and insurers often get billed hundreds of dollars for the most reliable PCR covid test. Prices are rising and they can’t fight back. More
Measuring what matters: How hospital rankings are evolving
Last year, the Lown Institute, a Brookline, Mass.-based nonpartisan healthcare think tank, broke new ground with the release of the Lown Hospitals Index that includes metrics such as racial inclusivity, pay equity and community benefit spending. The institute is now releasing updated 2021 results for the full index starting with the May 4 announcement of the top hospitals in the U.S. for avoiding overuse of low-value tests and procedures. "What we're trying to show is the hospitals at the top of our list are showing that it can be done. It is quite possible. So, for us the rationale for doing this is to show by example what can be done and then participate in what needs to be a broader movement to have American healthcare to move in that direction. It's only when we're able to do that will we be able to solve the deeper problems in healthcare, including affordability," said Dr. Vikas Saini, president of the Lown Institute. More
Nurse burnout remains a serious problem, putting patients in danger, experts say
"There was no one we could speak to, and our mental well-being was beginning to deteriorate," nurse Joanna Engman said. More
Mass General Brigham’s plan for surgical centers in suburbs stirs controversy
An ambitious expansion plan by Mass General Brigham for Westborough, Westwood, and Woburn has set off a fight about the future of outpatient health care in Massachusetts. Competitors worry that the already dominant health care provider could become even more powerful. More