Reducing overuse of c-sections and cervical cancer screening
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
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Shkreli Awards Archive
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 Equity firm takeover of nursing homes leads to surge of […] More
Hospitals overuse medical tests and procedures that don’t help patients, analysis finds
“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.
Caring for an Aging Nation
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
Trying To Avoid Racist Health Care, Black Women Seek Out Black Obstetricians
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
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
‘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