What Trump’s Covid-19 experience reveals about our pandemic response
Did Trump receive the "best care possible"? Or was he overtreated? More
Blog
Convalescent plasma doesn’t cut death, hospital stays in COVID patients
A study late last week found that convalescent plasma (CP) treatment did not significantly reduce mortality, but improved hospital discharge rates for patients 65 and older. More
How do Massachusetts hospitals stack up on the Lown Hospitals Index?
At a presentation for the Massachusetts Health Data Collaborative, Vikas Saini and Shannon Brownlee discussed why they created the Lown Hospitals Index, how the metrics were developed, and what the results show about hospitals in Massachusetts. Watch the full presentation here! More
The Sackler Family’s Plan to Keep Its Billions
The Trump Administration is poised to make a settlement with Purdue Pharma that it can claim as a victory for opioid victims. But the proposed outcome would leave the company’s owners enormously wealthy—and off the hook for good. More
De-adopting Low-Value Care: Evidence, Eminence, and Economics
This Viewpoint proposes that varying combinations of evidence, physician influence, and economics guide the continuation or de-adoption of low-value health services and can help organize and prioritize policy initiatives to drive down the prevalence of wasteful care. More
Two ways to stop unnecessary stenting
Many cardiologists recognize that placing coronary stents for stable heart disease has limited clinical benefit for patients. But low-value stents are still common -- how can we change this practice? New research in JAMA Internal Medicine provides some suggestions. More
What do we value in primary care?
How can we measure what really matters in primary care? In an essay in KevinMD, Dr. Michelle-Linh Nguyen offers a vision for better metrics in primary care. More
Widespread Adoption of Low-Value Therapy: The Case of Bronchiolitis and High-Flow Oxygen
Bronchiolitis is one of the most common reasons for pediatric hospitalization in the United States, incurring costs of $734 million each year. More
To Free Doctors From Computers, Far-Flung Scribes Are Now Taking Notes For Them
Paid even less than low-wage doctors’ scribes in the United States, remote note takers in India gain a foothold in a rapidly expanding industry. More
Trump boasted he made insulin so cheap ‘it’s like water.’ Americans with diabetes beg to differ.
The president said at Tuesday’s debate that he lowered insulin prices. That’s not true — and, for some, the drug’s expense is a fatal barrier. More
Last Words: A Globe Spotlight report. Is death the great equalizer?
The Spotlight team gathered data from over 1 million death certificates in Massachusetts and found a disturbing connection between wealth and age of death. More
The Black Doctors Working To Make Coronavirus Testing More Equitable
Dr. Ala Stanford was frustrated by systemic barriers preventing Black residents from getting tests. She created the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium and sends mobile test units into neighborhoods. More
Why people with diabetes are being hit so hard by Covid-19
For people with diabetes, a thicket of biological and socioeconomic factors make them more likely to suffer severe illness and die of Covid-19. More
Heroism and Hypocrisy: Seeing Our Reflection with 2020 Vision
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, hospice's new H Word is Hero! Stripped of the illusion of security, the public sees the immediate and enduring value of palliative care, home health care, nursing home care, and hospice. More
Sky-High Drug Prices Driven by Pharma Profits, House Dems Charge
Enormous drug company profits are the primary driver of soaring prescription drug prices in America, according to a damning investigation that Democrats on the House Oversight Committee began releasing Wednesday. More
Why Are So Few Drugs Tested for Safety in Pregnancy?
Expectant mothers have long been excluded from clinical trials. Some experts say this practice needs to change. More
Going Beyond One Size Fits All in Surgical Bundled Payments
This Viewpoint highlights 2 ways, based on insights from industries outside health care, to increase participation in and benefits of surgical bundles. More
L.A.’s poorest patients endure long delays to see medical specialists. Some die waiting
Thousands of patients in L.A. County's public hospital system face long, sometimes deadly waits to see specialists, a Times investigation has found. The system serves primarily the region's poorest and most vulnerable residents. More
UMass-Clinton Hospital among top 10 in index
The UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital campus in Leominster leads the state in the new Lown Institute Hospitals Index, a ranking of 3,300 hospitals and 300 hospital systems launched this summer. “It’s not necessarily the usual suspects that you’re going to find at the top of these rankings,” said Shannon Brownlee, the institute’s senior vice president. Lown Institute President Dr. Vikas Saini said the index is meant to help shape a discussion around health-care quality and unearth new ideas, rather than serve as a shopping guide for consumers. More
For two decades, the FDA approval process for opioids had numerous shortcomings, study finds
“Our study shows that there are evidence gaps that the FDA needs to address in approving new opioids,” said study co-author Thomas Moore. More